Heidi Weitz's Reviews > While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence

I have mixed feelings about this book. I really wanted to love it, or at least like it more.

This book has two parts. The first focuses more on the author’s family history, what it was like growing up in her family, and how her siblings interacted as young adults. The second part is more of a broad discussion on mental health systems in the United States and the authors experiences during her research.

There were aspects of this book that felt very familiar/relatable to me - the big catholic family, going through catholic school system, the challenge of navigating mental health struggles and the stigma people face around mental illness. I think a lot of people can relate to loving (or being) someone with a mental illness, and I think the author was brave to share her story so that people can feel less alone in these experiences. There were also things that did not work for me in this story. I felt a bit bored and confused by some of the family history that didn’t necessarily feel relevant. It was hard for me to keep track of her siblings and I didn’t feel as connected to these characters as I hoped. Did a cry like a baby at times over them? Yes. But I also felt like I was craving to know them more deeply. Maybe it would have helped to have each chapter focus on a sibling rather than sprinkle bits about them throughout the book. Part two was also a little all over the place at times. Learning about her reporting days was sometimes interesting, but it didn’t always feel very relevant and the book started to drag a bit for me.

Overall this is a candid look into how mental illness impacts a family and it does urge readers to recognize and treat mental illness as that, an illness.

I really like this cover and title so it’s earning a 4/5 aesthetic score from me