Gorilla and the Bird : A Memoir of Madness and a Mother's Love (Hardcover)

from Beamis12

His mother nicknamed him gorilla when he was a child, because he had a very hairy back. He called her the bird. This is a story of the devastation of mental illness, it is also a story of a mother's fierce, abiding love for her child. Mental illness ran in their family, but Zack had no clue the h...

from hemlokgang

This is the memoir of a young public defender who encounters mental illness within the criminal population and also in himself. It is a compelling, if somewhat painful, read. The reader is allowed into the intimate helplessness of the author's manic episodes, his mother's abiding love and support...

from Castlelass

Zack McDermott's mental health memoir gives readers an idea of what it is like to live with bipolar disorder. He worked as a public defender with the Legal Aid Society in New York when he had a psychotic break and spent time in Bellevue. This book reveals the telltale signs of a manic episode com...

from jwrudn

Zack McDermott, the Gorilla (so-named by his mother because of his hairy back), is a public defender in NYC, overworked and underpaid, often dealing with low level drug offenders, immigrants and EDP's (emotionally disturbed person). He is burning the candle at both ends working to be a stand-up c...

from mootzymom

Beautiful story of recovery and rehabilition from mentally illness. That which separates the haves from the have nots, a bird. A solid support system who understands and refuses to accept the mask of mental illness for her son, the gorilla. What courage it takes to tell such a brutal honest truth.