This deeply moving documentary reveals the hidden suffering of the sisters and brothers of the mentally ill. The range of distress experienced by these so-called ?well siblings? includes guilt for not being the one afflicted, resentment toward the ill sibling, and post traumatic stress disorder. Reporter Karen Brown threads together interviews with a wide variety of well siblings and experts to call attention to the stresses and burdens of being the ?normal? child in a household turned upside down by mental illness. The listener is taken to two such homes, where the relationship between the ill and the well sibling is exposed for all its complexity; stresses and resentments are openly discussed?as is the unique bond that these siblings have for each other. Powerful radio about a powerful subject.
Comments for A Burden to be Well: Sisters and Brothers of the Mentally Ill
Produced by Karen Brown
Other pieces by Karen Brown
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Taki Telonidis
Posted on July 18, 2007 at 04:18 AM | Permalink
Review of A Burden to be Well: Sisters and Brothers of the Mentally Ill
This deeply moving documentary reveals the hidden suffering of the sisters and brothers of the mentally ill. The range of distress experienced by these so-called ?well siblings? includes guilt for not being the one afflicted, resentment toward the ill sibling, and post traumatic stress disorder. Reporter Karen Brown threads together interviews with a wide variety of well siblings and experts to call attention to the stresses and burdens of being the ?normal? child in a household turned upside down by mental illness. The listener is taken to two such homes, where the relationship between the ill and the well sibling is exposed for all its complexity; stresses and resentments are openly discussed?as is the unique bond that these siblings have for each other. Powerful radio about a powerful subject.