A Legacy of Madness is in the top 20 list of books on suicide

A Legacy of Madness is in the top 20 list of books on suicide.

Given every that is happening with the National Football League, and the recent suicide of NFL star Junior Seau, this book is completely relevant and should be considered a reference for people who are suffering.

Book Review: A Legacy of Madness

From BREVITY's Nonfiction Blog:

Jennifer Nelson reviews Tom Davis’s A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family from Generations of Mental Illness
Hazelden 2011

Years ago, I dated a mentally ill man. He wrote hours on end without breaks for food or sleep, roared loudly at the slightest joke, and later suffered a complete breakdown that required hospitalization. At first, I brushed off concerns about his mental state. I was going out with an eccentric artist who was so generous that I could never give him up. One day he confessed he was bipolar, but his illness was managed through medication and counseling. In my heart, I knew he wasn’t the right one to wed, but had he been, could I have lived with a man who could be manic one day and depressed the next?

Tom Davis, the author of A Legacy of Madness, lucked out in marrying a woman who helped him overcome his mental health disorder. Together, they took their son, who became sick after crying and anxious over any stress, to a psychiatrist. They aimed to break the cycle of madness that had plagued generations in his family. In fact, Tom’s great-great grandmother, Lydia Winans, and her sons, Frederick and Edward, all committed suicide by gas asphyxiation, and his mother and grandfather exhibited bizarre behavior. Davis painstakingly researched his family’s history, and in the process, he discovered more about his own mental instability.

In the early twentieth century, Tom’s grandfather, Dick, suppressed symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder through drinking vodka and beer; ironically, he headed personnel at the famous Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Morris Plains, N.J. There, Tom’s mother, Dede, witnessed lunatics running wildly outside and gazing through bars on the windows of dark stone buildings. Her father wandered patients’ wings that reeked of urine. Certainly, growing up in such a place impacted a young girl’s perception. “At Christmas, they didn’t look out and see kids throwing snowballs at each other and decorated houses lining the streets,” Davis wrote. “They didn’t look out in July and see fireworks or kids jumping into pools and playing baseball in the street. They saw only what my mother would call ‘the nuthouse,’ one of the largest psychiatric facilities in the country, staring them down every day.”

In this ambitious book, Tom digs into his relatives’ past, jumping from Hightstown in the 1930s, where his grandfather grew up, to Point Pleasant in the 1970s, where his parents and siblings lived. He talks about the trials of living with a mother who obsessively washed her hands, constantly asked her husband if he loved her, and hit her children. His father escaped to the New Jersey shore to relieve the stress of living with his unbalanced wife. Tom recounts how as a young adult, he suffered through eating disorders, tightness in his chest, and feelings of despair. One day, he contemplates driving his car into a river. “Once again, I thought of my mother and my grandfather, how they could be self-destructive, how they didn’t seem to care what came next,” Tom wrote. “Was I self-destructing too?” He calls his wife, who orders him to visit a doctor. His doctor prescribes Lexapro, which keeps Tom mentally balanced. He severs the cycle of madness that had plagued his family, and, in the process, provides hope for others whose thoughts darken even on the brightest days.

—

Jennifer Nelson is currently pursuing an MFA in creative nonfiction at Vermont College of Fine Arts after spending years teaching French and writing for several newspapers and magazines. She lives in Hopewell, New Jersey, with her three teenagers.

Was Whitney Houston mentally ill?

This was covered a bit in this article, which makes reference to the book, A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family From Generation of Mental Illness.

Here is the Huffington Post reference: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-davis/imperfect-lives_b_1282309.html.

Here are the Wiki Answers:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Was_Whitney_Houston_mentally_ill

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_Whitney_Houston_very_ill

From The Huffington Post: Whitney Houston And The Perfectly Imperfect Life

Growing up, I wanted to be the greatest at whatever I did, the guy who'd rise above the troubles of my family. I wanted to become the Muhammad Ali, even the Whitney Houston, in my corner of the world.....Read more on The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-davis/imperfect-lives_b_1282309.html

Best depression treatment after doing a book tour for "A Legacy of Madness? Sad about what happened to Welcome Back Kotter's Juan Epstein? Try writing

I talk a lot about depression treatment in my book, A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family From Generations of Mental Illness.

Being away on a book tour for two weeks, I felt like I needed it. I missed home. I missed my wife and kids. I missed seeing trees with empty branches, houses with solid bricks and winter skies filled with snowflakes.

When I got home came another "whammy." I talk a lot about growing up in the 1970s, and there's nothing to make you feel older than to hear that Welcome Back Kotter's Juan Epstein, otherwise known as Robert Hegyes (a fellow Metuchen, N.J. resident, by the way), die of a heart attack.

I felt like I was just starting to get to know the guy. He's a celebrity in Metuchen, a native of this place where he went to school before he hit stardom. We just friended each other on Facebook; he was "in a relationship" with somebody, and I checked on her, too (her wall was blocked, unfortunately, so I'll never know).

Again, feelings of melancholy creeped in. I started to feel like I was on the plane again, impatiently waiting for every hour to pass until I could feel the descent into JFK Airport. I started to feel my palms sweat, as I usually do when I get nervous.

Or when I start to feel as old as I am, or even older.

The one thing I was asked often, at every stop I made - which included a stop at the Jimmy Carter Library (speaking of the 1970s) in Atlanta, where Rosalynn Carter greeted me - was: "How do you get through it? How do you deal with those feelings when they start to come on."

My best answer is here, and what I'm doing write now: Writing.

Writing is the best release of the soul. It's the outlet that allows your mind to problem-solve. It gives you the challenge of a puzzle, finding the right words to express your grief. After you express it, you still may feel like you don't have the right words.

So you read them again. And then you rewrite, and maybe rewrite again, until the sentences, the paragraphs take on the right form and shape.

You start to remember the reasons why you feel the way you do. You start to remember that whatever makes you feel depressed probably once gave you such joy.

I remember being 8 years old, and my sister telling me about this cool new show called "Welcome Back Kotter." I was pretty young for it, but I wanted to try it anyway.

I remember it being so different from what I've seen before. Sure, there was "All in the Family," and shows like it. But there were few that matched the sense of humor of the kids I knew from school. There were few shows that took on the form and shape of the juvenile life I knew.

Somehow, even in second and third grade, when I was going to an elementary school in Point Pleasant, N.J., I could find a kid like Barbarino, Horshack, Washington and Epstein. The show always made me feel at home, even after John Travolta hit stardom and the show "jumped the shark" creatively.

As I write this, I'm reminded about what makes me feel young again. That's what writing does - that's why I wrote the book about my family; that's why I traveled to Atlanta and San Francisco to promote.

And that's why, as silly as it may seem, I'm writing about Juan Epstein. Because Epstein, like writing, is an extension of my soul.

Going to California to promote "A Legacy of Madness"

The list of events can be found here: http://www.goodreads.com/event/list_user

Tom Davis's Internet Movie Database (IMDB) page for A Legacy of Madness appearances is here

Tom Davis's biography appears on the Internet Movie Database, or IMDB.com.

Tom Davis has appeared on CNN's Showbiz Tonight, Entertainment Tonight, the CBS Evening News, WABC-TV and Fox-5 New York to comment on and discuss mental health issues, particularly issues that deal with eating disorders. He has appeared on News 12 New Jersey and other media to speak about his book, "A Legacy of Madness." One of Davis's first television appearances was on ESPN's Boardwalk and Baseball Super Bowl of Sports Trivia in January 1988.

Here is the URL: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4832730/. His name appears under Tom Davis (XXX).

So why am I creating all these lists? Because every book - particularly in mental health - needs a boost

Publicity budgets have been slashed. Agents and publicists find themselves either overloaded with work, or they narrow their focus so small, because they have to do so much with so little.

Nevertheless, I'm proud of what we've been able to accomplish with A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family From Generations of Mental Illness. I knew it would be an uphill battle. But I also knew that it would take a little creative thought to push a product that has been operating on the so-called "shoestring budget."

I also knew that more than money was necessary in order to preserve the book's core principles (as well as my own).

I never intended for this to be a best-seller. If I had, I would have pushed the envelope toward the Random House's of the world. The bigger agents and publishing outfits wanted me to reveal more about myself, and my family. I didn't want to do it.

When I went to graduate school, I learned the ways of the web. The way to get on the web is to write, post and link.

Best Books on Love

Here is my Amazon list of the best books on love:

1. A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family from Generations of Mental Illness by Tom Davis.

2. Tolstoy Lied: A Love Story by Rachel Kadish

3. Pihkal: A Chemical Love Story

4 Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

5: Stockholm: A Novel by Kian Kaul

Best Family Books

Here is my Amazon list of the best family books:

1. A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family from Generations of Mental Illness by Tom Davis
$10.91 Used & New from: $9.02 (2 customer reviews)	Create your own Listmania! with this product

2. The Magic of Finkleton by K.C. Hilton $0.99 (24 customer reviews) Create your own Listmania! with this product

3. Angel in a Fur Coat by C.L. Enuton $12.95 Used & New from: $10.06 (3 customer reviews) | 2 customer discussions Create your own Listmania! with this product

4. No English by Amy Huntington $9.95 Used & New from: $5.42 (4 customer reviews) Create your own Listmania! with this product

5. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

Best Books for Christmas

Here is my Amazon list of the best books for Christmas:

1. A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family from Generations of Mental Illness by Tom Davis.

2. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.

3. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini.

4. Matchless by Gregory Maguire

5. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Best Books on Eating Disorders

Here is an Amazon list of the best books on eating disorders:

1. A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family from Generations of Mental Illness by Tom Davis.

2. Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia (P.S.) by Marya Hornbacher

3. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

4. Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self by Lori Gottlieb

5. Thin by Lauren Greenfield

6. Nothing by Robin Friedman

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_best_books_on_eating_disorders#ixzz1gQQCbBNx

Best Books on Mental Illness

Here is an Amazon list of the best books about mental illness:

A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family from Generations of Mental Illness by Tom Davis.

The list author says:

"Engrossing book that deals with generations of a family that suffered through self-destruction"

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The list author says:

"Perhaps the most riveting book ever written about mental health, and it was way ahead of its time."

A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar

The list author says:

"Perhaps the most sensitive portrayal of mental health every written."

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness by Kay Redfield Jamison

Best Books about Mental Health

Here is an Amazon list of the best books about mental health:

1. A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family from Generations of Mental Illness by Tom Davis.

The list author says:

"Engrossing book that deals with generations of a family that suffered through self-destruction"

2. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The list author says:

"Perhaps the most riveting book ever written about mental health, and it was way ahead of its time."

3. A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar

The list author says:

"Perhaps the most sensitive portrayal of mental health every written."

4. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

5. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

6. An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness by Kay Redfield Jamison

Best Books on Suicide

Amazon has rated what some believe are the best books on suicide. A Legacy of Madness is at the top of the list.

The book is performing well on the Amazon best-seller lists, rising to number 50 on the list of books that deal with anxiety disorders, and number 10 on the list of books that deal with suicide.

Here is the link: Best Books on Suicide.

A Legacy of Madness is on best-seller list books that deal with suicide

A Legacy of Madness has become a resource for those in need, who are desperate, and who think that a book may be a resource.

On Friday, the book that serves as a memoir of my family hit number 15 on the Amazon best-seller list for books that deal with suicide.

BOOK RELEASE TODAY: An excerpt from A Legacy of Madness

My book, A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family From Generations of Mental Illness, was officially released by Hazelden Publishers today (Oct. 3, 2011).

Thanks be to all!

The book is available at major retailers and independent bookstores (Barnes & Noble apparently did not receive a shipment in its warehouse today, but I'm told the book will be on the shelves by the end of the week).

Information on signings and how to purchase is available at the book's website: http://www.legacyofmadness.com.

As a tribute to all those who made this possible, here's an except from the book (page 186) that speaks to the power of positive reinforcement:

The person who really saved me, at least during my teenage years, was Bill Borden. He showed up at my house in Point Pleasant in 1983 wanting to go to the beach. That visit made him my best friend forever, because he never did stop showing up at my house, unannounced, ready to have fun. He was my confidant. We had known each other before. But when we became closer, I learned more from Bill than I learned from anybody. I marveled at his ability to smile his way through problems. I was struck by his ability to go up to people and start talking to them. I was amazed that he was able to carry on a conversation with anybody ....

I was always too shy and cynical to be social. I felt insecure about the way I looked ... Bill had an awkward, but honest, even charming way about him.

Bill's mission was to have fun, to smile, and to live a good life; he just wanted to work hard, go to bed, and wake up the next morning and do it all over again.

From "A Legacy of Madness:" How 9-11 Was A Turning Point In Our Lives

This excerpt from A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family From Generations Of Mental Illness, my book that is being released Oct. 3, talks about how the Sept. 11 attacks played a pivotal role in my mother's care. This passage is from chapter 11, pages 248-250.

We pulled her out of Ancora [Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey] after a month. Then we put her in Rose Mountain, the nursing home ten minutes from my house. During the summer of 2001, I visited her twice a week. My wife visited her once a week. Whenever I went there, I listened to her rattle on about how she wanted to go home, the same way she always had before. She did it so much, and for so long, that I grew numb to it. I had stock answers for everything.

"I understand," I told her. "I know. It's not the best situation."

I'd often bring Tommy with me and he'd play under my chair. I'd stay for nearly an hour. Then as I got up, she'd always say something to stop me.

"So how are you, my dear?" Then I'd stay for another hour, talking about myself, before we'd start talking about her again.

Occasionally, I took her on little trips, usually over to Fuddruckers restaurant in New Brunswick, where she'd get a cheeseburger. She and Tommy, who was then three, would sit next to each other and eat the same thing. Both of them would eat it quickly. At the end of the meal, they'd both look up to me, their eyes sweet and puppy-like, and say the same thing.

"Can I have a cookie?"

For the first time in years, my mother was calm. The whole time she was at Rose Mountain, she didn't have a drop of medicine. The best medicine, we came to see, was the visits. I even had her come to the condo we had bought in Metuchen to stay and talk. She'd climb the steps, hanging onto the railing that my wife had installed for her. Then she'd sit in the living room and follow the same routine: complain for nearly an hour, notice when I got antsy, show some interest in me and stay for another hour.

My father noticed the difference, too. At the end of August, he decided to take her back. I questioned it at first. But this time, he seemed deeply committed. My wife and I had sought to remove the stress my mother had lived with for three years, ever since she came out of the hospital and felt the stitches from her bladder operation. Now my father wanted to give it a try.

* * *

At first, the arrangement looked like it wasn't going to last. Once again, my father complained that my mother was being aggravating and irritating. He even hinted that he may have to call 911 again, because it was just getting to be too much. She was still repeating, thought not as severely. She was still worried about her bladder, though not as badly.

But when the September 11 attacks happened, just two weeks after my mother left Rose Mountain, my father no longer complained. Perhaps he realized there were people worse off than him. She stayed there, at home in Point Pleasant, until January 18, 2003, living relatively peacefully, and as time passed, she never said much of anything anymore.

She repeated, but she seemed too tired to continue very long. She stayed in her chair all day, watching the television, often with the sound way down. When we saw her, there was no more of the pleading. There was no more of the helplessness. She was a mother again.

She even let us kiss her again, usually behind the ear, but it was still a kiss.

Rosalynn Carter, former U.S. First Lady, has endorsed "A Legacy of Madness"

Rosalynn Carter, former U.S. First Lady and chairperson of the Carter Center Mental Health Task Force, has endorsed my book, "A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family From Generations of Mental Illness."

Here is what Mrs. Carter said:

" 'A Legacy of Madness' breaks down the barriers of silence that shroud mental illnesses within families for generations. It also details the larger problem of stigma and the failures of a system ill-equipped to provide adequate treatment and support. By sharing the story of his family history and his own personal journey, Tom Davis provides hope and inspiration to others."

I served as a fellow for the Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism program from 2004 to 2005. It was one of the best experiences of my life. Here is my work for the center: http://www.cartercenter.org/health/mental_health/archive/author/davis.html.

Governor Codey has endorsed "A Legacy of Madness"

Former N.J. Governor Richard Codey, famously known for championing mental health causes, has endorsed "A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family From Generations of Mental Illness."

Said Codey: "This is a book from the heart, and for any family with somebody who has mental illness, this is a must read."