OSHER 771 - Utah Authors: Stephen Trimble, Leave Me Alone Forever

Stephen Trimble, the award-winning writer and photographer known for books about western landscapes and Native peoples, turns to tragic stories in his own family for this memoir. Psychosis overwhelmed his brother Mike at 14. Mike was institutionalized when Steve was six. Now, when it's emotionally safe, long after his brother, mother, and father have died, Steve reconstructs his brother's story, traces the threads of community and family that forged their mother, Isabelle, and searches for the empathy he never felt as a self-involved youth. Isabelle's story takes us into the waves of Jewish migration to the American West. Mikes story parallels the history of our treatment of the mentally ill over the last half-century. Part detective story, part journey of self-discovery, Leave Me Alone Forever will resonate with all readers with a family member or friend touched by madness, a link that embraces nearly everyone. Emphasis will be on discussion.