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Annie's Ghosts : : a Journey Into a Family Secret

Luxenberg, Steve. Book - 2009 306.875 Lu None on shelf 3 requests on 2 copies Community Rating: 4.1 out of 5

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Downtown 2nd Floor
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306.875 Lu 4-week checkout Due 03-20-2024
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306.875 Lu 4-week checkout Due 03-27-2024

Steve Luxenberg's mother always told people she was an only child. It was a fact that he'd grown up with, along with the information that some of his relatives were Holocaust survivors. However, when his mother was dying, she casually mentioned that she had had a sister she'd barely known, who early in life had been put into a mental institution. Luxenberg began his researches after his mother's death, discovering the startling fact that his mother had grown up in the same house with this sister, Annie, until her parents sent Annie away to the local psychiatric hospital at the age of 23.
Annie would spend the rest of her life shut away in a mental institution, while the family erased any hints that she had ever existed. Through interviews and investigative journalism, Luxenberg teases out her story from the web of shame and half-truths that had hidden it. He also explores the social history of institutions such as Eloise in Detroit, where Annie lived, and the fact that in this era (the 40s and 50s), locking up a troubled relative who suffered from depression or other treatable problems was much more common than anyone realizes today.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Forced Fun submitted by adipirro on July 6, 2011, 10:37pm I read this when I participated in the community reads program from another library. It's one of the first Non-fiction, other than books for school, that I have read. I thought it was well written and rather interesting... AND THE AUTHOR IS FROM FLINT, MI!

Quite A Story submitted by Beth Manuel on June 26, 2014, 6:06pm I was struck by not just the story of the writer's search to uncover his Mother's secret, but the sub story of Eloise, the setting that housed thousands of "inmates", AKA people who may have had a disability. Eloise was located right in Detroit, so that fascinated me. It employed thousands of people, as well. It was like a huge city, with its own livestock farm, cannery, dairy cows, RIGHT in Detroit! It was demonstrative of how different the mental health system is now. In good ways.

Family secrets submitted by Jhopson on August 7, 2015, 9:54am An interesting, expertly told story by an investigative journalist trying to uncover a family secret after his mother's death. Interesting to follow his story, both what he learns about his family and how he learns it. Lots of insight into the mental health "care" system of the era, particularly in Michigan.

Very good! submitted by bookher on August 16, 2015, 7:16pm This book was selected for my book club and what a nice surprise! I couldn't put this book down. I loved the historical aspect of learning about Eloise in Detroit which I had never heard of before even though I grew up in MI. Well-written and a very interesting family mystery.

Cover image for Annie's ghosts : : a journey into a family secret


PUBLISHED
New York : Hyperion Books, 2009.
Year Published: 2009
Description: 401 p.
Language: English
Format: Book

ISBN/STANDARD NUMBER
9781401310196 (pbk.)
9781401322472
1401322476

SUBJECTS
Luxenberg, Steve -- Family.
Adult children of aging parents -- Family relationships -- Case studies.
Mothers and sons -- Case studies.
Sisters -- Family relationships -- Case studies.
Inmates of institutions -- Family relationships -- Michigan -- Case studies.
Family secrets -- Case studies.