My guess is that most of us know and love someone with mental health issues — and we all have suffered with them and because of them. If you want to look into a mirror and see the dynamics of that relationship clearly — your very own relationship perhaps, certainly mine for over twenty years — read THE VELVETEEN DAUGHTER by Laurel Davis Huber, published last year by She Writes Press. Huber the author is a Smith graduate and it shows in her beautiful writing and emotional openness on a subject that deserves more discussion and understanding.
The book is a “fictionalized memoir” of Margery Williams Bianco, the author of one of the most beloved children’s books of all times, THE VELVETEEN RABBIT, and her daughter Pamela Bianco, a world-renowned child prodigy artist who struggles with severe depression and the symptoms of what we now call Bi-Polar Disease or one of the many other such diseases with similar symptoms and results. In addition, what hooked me on the book was this tag line from it’s promotion which delivered big time on its promise: “It is also a fascinating look at the glamorous art world of Europe and New York in the early twentieth century with a supporting cast of luminaries including Eugene O’Neill, Pablo Picasso, and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney who provide a vivid backdrop to this multifaceted, illuminating story of art, family, and the consequences of genius touched by madness.”
It’s surely one of the best books I’ve read in a long, long time — and we were fortunate enough to have the author join our book club discussion last month which was fascinating and insightful. She and her husband split their time between New Jersey and Maine. We caught her when she was up north but she is available as a speaker elsewhere and seems to enjoy it.
