Hurry Down Sunshine Update on Sally: Author Michael Greenberg's Recent Comments on Daughter

Michael Greenberg, author of Hurry Down Sunshine, the touching, personal memoir about his teenage daughter Sally's descent into madness, recently posted an update on her life. The events in Hurry Down Sunshine took place in the summer of 1996 when Sally was 15 years old, but the book was just recently published, in 2008.

How is Sally Now?

For readers of Hurry Down Sunshine, the inevitable and pressing question upon finishing the book --since it is now a dozen years later-- is "How is Sally Now?" That's what Greenberg titled a recent short update article meant for just those readers, released through his publicists, FSB associates.

Greenberg has said that "writing Hurry Down Sunshine, I sometimes felt as if I was describing a great storm: an unexpected wind had come upon us, tearing to bits the little boat upon which our family floated. When the wind finally lifted, we were each holding on to a different plank of the vessel, looking at each other from the across the water, which was suddenly calm again, surprised to have eyes."

Possibility of Attack Always Looms

Although an afterword in the memoir does briefly comment on Sally's continued struggles with mental illness (she was diagnosed officially with bipolar 1) as of early 2008, Greenberg does not go into much detail, allowing the narrative to fairly stand on its own as the tale of one awful, eye-opening summer. The author's more recent, cautiously hopeful comments fill us in a bit more.

In that manic depression is a chronic condition, the ups and downs that have characterized Sally's life since 1996 are to be expected. "Although Sally has experienced rich and productive periods of remission and calm," Greenberg writes, "the possibility of a new attack always looms."

Challenges for a Vibrant Young Woman

Greenberg reports that after a challenging year in 2007, which included the breakup of her marriage and a "delicate" alteration in her medication, 2008 has been mostly positive for Sally. She moved to Spring Lake Ranch in the Green Mountains of Vermont, a therapeutic work community that grows it's own food and produces Maple Syrup.

Sally is now preparing to move into her own apartment in a nearby city. Her father calls her " a vibrant young woman, a caring friend, and a natural writer with an unusual gift for language."

"She is twenty-seven now, and out of necessity she and I both have become experts of her disease, ever vigilant of sudden mood swings and other ominous signs. Together -- along with her doctor, her mother, her friends -- we do our best to stave off a fresh breakdown."

Sally's Illness Influences Family Positively, Profoundly

Hurry Down Sunshine highlights how mental illness affects a family, and the story has clearly continued into the following decade. Michael Greenberg reports that Sally's illness has profoundly influenced those closest to Sally. Stepmother Pat gave up her modern dance career, took a degree in infant development, and now works with high risk children.

Sally's brother Aaron, so supportive during the events of '96, now works for UNICEF as a child protection officer, a decision influenced by Sally's condition. As for the author himself, "Sally has changed my fundamental view of the world. She has taught me about the fragility of even our closest relationships, and the endurance of our deepest bonds of love."

Hurry Down Sunshine cannot be more highly recommended, particularly for those dealing with the illness of a family member or loved one.

Greenberg, Michael. Hurry Down Sunshine, 2008, Other Press, 232 pages. (isbn: 978-1-59051-191-6)

The copyright of the article Hurry Down Sunshine Update on Sally in Biographies/Memoirs is owned by Dale Van Every. Permission to republish Hurry Down Sunshine Update on Sally in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Jan 6, 2009 7:21 PM

Guest :

My daughter, now 16, has a diagnosis of schizophrenia. In the last year she has spent over 3 months in hospital psych wards. She has been in a group home for almost 3 months and is scheduled to come home in 6 weeks. She has taken 3 different anti-psychotics, tried one anti-depressant and cojenten for tremors.

My Aunt picked up this book and was amazed at how it so seemed to mimic my families experiences of the last year. She gave it to me and I have 4 family members on the waiting list to read it after I finish. (which just so happened to be today)

This book gave me hope (and caused me to shed some tears). When we find out our little girls (or boys) are destined to become someone we never predicted, we go through a grieving process. Then we remind ourselves that this is the person they were going to become no matter what we wanted to imagine. .... and isn't that true with most kids.