Books
A Common struggle, Patrick J. Kennedy and Stephen Fried
Prologue
“Amy and our young children are what keep me on my spiritual journey of recovery and hope. In fact, they are probably the only reason I am still alive. They remind me every day of our most underappreciated treatment for these illnesses: love and faith.
They also remind me of the biggest reason to fight for mental health parity. My own children are at considerable genetic risk, just as I was, of developing mental illness and addiction.
Which means that they can, and must, be part of the first generation in American history to have their brain diseases treated like every other disease.
Our children must be part of the first generation for which routine doctor visits includes a “checkup from the neck up”.
My goal is to change the way we talk about mental illness and addiction in this country, move the conversation from a painful existence debate to a more useful and forward looking discussion about proper diagnosis and care.
The sad truth is that while we still have so much to learn about the brain, most patients don’t even benefit from what we already know.
More than half the people who have been diagnosed with any mental illness do not get treatment at all. It is time to for this to change.
My hope is that by writing about and exposing the worlds I get to visit, I might be able to make your journey less isolated.
These struggles are much more common than most people realize, but too many of us still face them alone, if we face them at all.
That isn’t necessary, it isn’t healthy, and it isn’t how any of us want to live our lives.
I believe more than ever than ever, that we have the power to change the world for people who have mental illnesses and addictions, and for all of those whose lives are touched by these brain diseases – which is to say, all of us.
In fact, I have bet my life on it.”
Videos
- CBS This Morning
- Patrick Kennedy shares secret family struggles in “A Common Struggle”
Former Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy writes of his own mental illness and addictions, but he also looks at his parents’ problems with alcohol and his mother’s depression. Kennedy believes his father, Ted, suffered from post-traumatic stress after two of his brothers were assassinated. Kennedy joins “CBS This Morning” to discuss why he decided to reveal the Kennedy family secrets.
Published on :- 2015-Oct-5th
Link
- Former Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Sen. Ted Kennedy’s youngest child, has a new memoir that digs deep into his long history of mental illness and addiction. It is a story other family members did not want him to tell. His brother, Ted Kennedy Jr., called it an “inaccurate and unfair portrayal of our family.” Kennedy joins the second hour of “CBS This Morning” to discuss why he co-wrote “A Common Struggle.”
Published on :- 2015-Oct-5th
Link
- Maria Shriver
- Architects of Change: Patrick Kennedy & Maria Shriver
Published On :- 2106-Jan-13rd
Link
