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Published by Prospecta Press
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Millicent Monks was born into one of the most famous families
in America; her great-grandfather was the brother of Andrew
Carnegie. Their fabled wealth enabled them to amass great houses and even
private islands, but it was a dynasty torn apart by a succession
of tragedies: suicide, alcoholism, and extremities of mental
illness were passed on from generation to generation. For the women in the family, the consequences of this legacy
have been painful. After a difficult childhood, the author’s
daughter was diagnosed at the age of eighteen with what is now
known as borderline personality disorder, a debilitating mental
illness that was for the parents -- in the words of the novelist
Sebastian Faulks -- "a public shame as well as private
devastation." Like all mothers of children afflicted with this
condition, Monks suffered from guilt and self-recrimination as she
struggled to heal a disease that had no cause but for which she
was held responsible. In the end, through the intervention of a wise Jungian
therapist, meditation, and -- most important of all -- acceptance,
the author achieves a self-insight that enables her and her
daughter to arrive at a delicate peace. Songs of Three Islands
powerfully demonstrates that we are not defined by our inheritance
alone. pub date: 2013-10-08 | Paperback | 9781935212447 |
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