My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward: A Memoir - Hardcover

Lukach, Mark

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 006242291X ISBN 13: 9780062422910

Publisher: Harper, 2017

Synopsis

International Bestseller

A heart-wrenching, yet hopeful, memoir of a young marriage that is redefined by mental illness and affirms the power of love.

Mark and Giulia’s life together began as a storybook romance. They fell in love at eighteen, married at twenty-four, and were living their dream life in San Francisco. When Giulia was twenty-seven, she suffered a terrifying and unexpected psychotic break that landed her in the psych ward for nearly a month. One day she was vibrant and well-adjusted; the next she was delusional and suicidal, convinced that her loved ones were not safe.

Eventually, Giulia fully recovered, and the couple had a son. But, soon after Jonas was born, Giulia had another breakdown, and then a third a few years after that. Pushed to the edge of the abyss, everything the couple had once taken for granted was upended.

A story of the fragility of the mind, and the tenacity of the human spirit, My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward is, above all, a love story that raises profound questions: How do we care for the people we love? What and who do we live for? Breathtaking in its candor, radiant with compassion, and written with dazzling lyricism, Lukach’s is an intensely personal odyssey through the harrowing years of his wife’s mental illness, anchored by an abiding devotion to family that will affirm readers’ faith in the power of love.

About this title

From the Back Cover

A heart-wrenching yet hopeful memoir of a young marriage that is redefined by mental illness and affirms the power of love.

Mark and Giulia’s life together began as a fairy-tale romance. They fell in love at eighteen, got married at twenty-four, and started their dream life in San Francisco soon after. But when Giulia was twenty-seven, she suffered a terrifying and unexpected psychotic break that landed her in the psych ward for nearly a month. One day she was vibrant and well adjusted; the next, she was delusional and suicidal, convinced that her loved ones were not safe. 

Eventually, Giulia fully recovered and the couple had a son. Soon after Jonas was born, Giulia had another breakdown, and then a third a few years after that. Pushed to the edge of the abyss, everything the couple had once taken for granted was upended. 

An exploration of the fragility of the mind and the tenacity of the human spirit, My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward is, above all, a love story that raises profound questions: How do we care for the people most important to us? What and whom do we live for? Breathtaking in its candor, radiant with compassion, and written with dazzling lyricism, Lukach’s intensely personal odyssey through the harrowing years of his wife’s mental illness is anchored by an abiding devotion to family that will affirm readers’ faith in the power of love.

About the Author

Mark Lukach is a teacher and freelance writer. His work has been published in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Pacific Standard, Wired, and other publications. He is the ninth-grade dean at the Athenian School, where he also teaches history. He lives with his wife, Giulia, and their two sons in the San Francisco Bay area.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 006242291X
• ISBN 13: 9780062422910
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320