The Heart Too Long Suppressed: A Chronicle of Mental Illness

Rating:
Summary: An enthralling must-read memoir.
Review: Actress/author/professor Carol Hebald's THE HEART TOO LONG SUPPRESSED is an enthralling memoir of mental illness - her own - written with understanding, breathtaking revelations and, yes, tremendous wit. The reader is led behind the scrim that would seem to separate the rest of us from this disease and our only partially realized, rarely totally sane, selves.

By the time Hebald reaches middle age, she discovers that the parent-guide whom she always sought through much emotional turmoil in truth existed and exists within herself and in God. The reader cannot help but see a parallel life path in every person on earth.

Beautifully written with compelling can't-put-down force and much spit-fire repartee, this is a must read. I do hope someone is wise enough to transfer Hebald's masterful work into film.

Rating:
Summary: Behind the poet
Review: Anyone who is fortunate enough to have encountered Carol Hebald's poetry knows the wonder of being exposed to an extraordinary talent, one which some of today's most successful authors and novelists envy.

Now we know at what cost to her this skill was engendered.

I would like to see an annotated volume, in which her poetry can be read in the context of the story that unfolds in "The Heart Too Long Suppressed".

Rating:
Summary: powerful autobiography
Review: As a child, Ms. Hebald had no allies once her father died, but even he, on his deathbed, "abused" her when she was five. Others from her mom to her baby-sitter to her lovers to her doctors made her feel that life is miserable. For instance, as a teen a psychiatrist acclaimed she was a sure shot suicide. A series of hospitals and a bunch of losers with psychiatrist degree provided Ms. Hebald little solace, plenty of unhelpful advice and turned her stomach into a chemical processing plant. Finally at forty-four, she decided it was time to recycle her life starting with dumping her drug paraphernalia into the ocean.

Readers should understand this is not an easy memoir to follow as Carol Hebald goes deep inside her brain to her soul to explain four decades of mental illness highlighted by several suicide attempts. The author is all over the place with the influences in her life turning her autobio somewhat into a NYC rush hour train. Though it is difficult to follow her narrative, the audience will find it worth the time for anyone dealing with mental illness or a family member because overall this is a powerful condemnation warning for the buyer to beware.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: powerful autobiography
Review: As a child, Ms. Hebald had no allies once her father died, but even he, on his deathbed, "abused" her when she was five. Others from her mom to her baby-sitter to her lovers to her doctors made her feel that life is miserable. For instance, as a teen a psychiatrist acclaimed she was a sure shot suicide. A series of hospitals and a bunch of losers with psychiatrist degree provided Ms. Hebald little solace, plenty of unhelpful advice and turned her stomach into a chemical processing plant. Finally at forty-four, she decided it was time to recycle her life starting with dumping her drug paraphernalia into the ocean.

Readers should understand this is not an easy memoir to follow as Carol Hebald goes deep inside her brain to her soul to explain four decades of mental illness highlighted by several suicide attempts. The author is all over the place with the influences in her life turning her autobio somewhat into a NYC rush hour train. Though it is difficult to follow her narrative, the audience will find it worth the time for anyone dealing with mental illness or a family member because overall this is a powerful condemnation warning for the buyer to beware.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Inspirational
Review: Carol Hebald's story of overcoming the assumed difficulties that she would have in life is an inspiration; not only to those who have dealt with mental illness, but also to those who have had real and/or perceived constraints put upon them by various medical facilities/personal. I enjoyed reading Carol's memoires and sharing in the tales that brought her to where she is now.

Rating:
Summary: A major accomplishment.
Review: Intimate in its personal revelations, yet universal in scope, The Heart Too Long Suppressed is a powerful and gripping account of one woman's courageous struggle to come to terms with a difficult past. Toward the end of the book, Hebald speaks briefly about "pain as nourishment" for the artist. Herein lies her strength: She transforms tragedy into lyrical art. I was struck throughout by her dazzling shifts of tone. Her ability to balance between acute perception and precarious illness is nothing short of amazing. This book is a major accomplishment. I recommend it enthusiastically and without reservation.