Annie's Ghosts- Luxenberg (Book#47)

What a fascinating read! This was a book I got completely lost in. I love it when that happens with a book. Steve grew up thinking his mother was an only child. She told him stories of being an only child, and the picture of her childhood showed just her with her parents. Decades later, as his mother was on her death bed, he finds out from a social worker that his mother mentioned she had a sister. Who was this sister? Why did his mother never mention her before? These are questions Steve never gets to ask her for she passes away before they can be asked. This is a story about Steve's quest to find out what happened to the aunt he never knew. Steve uses his investigative journalist skills and learns that his aunt was handicapped since childbirth and institutionalized at 21 for mental illness. This story is more than just about his aunt though, it is also about the other ghosts he digs up along the way. Through his journey he describes how mental illness was handled in the past, and explores not just what Annie went through but what many others like her went through before there was greater understanding of mental illness and intellectual disabilities. Although I did feel the story could have been shortened by a chapter or two, I found it to be an easy read.

I first heard of this story through NPR. To read his interview and read an excerpt click here.