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Molly McCloskey
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Circles Around the Sun: In Search of a Lost Brother Kindle Edition

by Molly McCloskey (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 out of 5 stars 51 ratings

An author attempts to uncover who her older brother was before schizophrenia took hold of him in this “clear-eyed and heartbreaking” memoir (Publishers Weekly).

Molly McClosky’s brother Mike was fourteen when she was born. So far apart in age, she barely knew him before schizophrenia took hold of him at the age of twenty-three. Within a few years, Mike’s world began to fall apart. By the time Molly was old enough to begin to know him, Mike was heavily medicated and frequently delusional, living in hospitals or care homes or on the road.

Years later, through reading an astonishing archive of letters preserved by her mother and grandmother, and interviewing old friends of Mike's, Molly began to piece together a picture of her brother's life, before and after the illness struck—the story of how a gifted and well-liked student and athlete was overtaken by a terrible illness that rendered him unrecognizable. Now she tells that story, which is also the story of her own demons and of the ways in which a seemingly perfect family can slowly fall apart, and in the end, regroup.

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  1. Print length
    233 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    ABRAMS Press
  4. Publication date
    October 25, 2012
  5. Reading age
    18 years and up
  6. File size
    3.8 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Fiction writer McCloskey tackles the prickly subject of schizophrenia in this bracing memoir about her older brother, Mike. In heartbreaking detail, she recounts Mike’s descent from smart, handsome intercollegiate athlete to muttering, wool-capped, house-bound stranger. (As the disease progressed, Mike would also drop out of sight for long periods of time.) McCloskey attempts to understand her brother’s downward mental spiral, talking with those who knew him in his early life and reviewing letters he wrote to her at various stages of his illness. But she remains puzzled by his peculiar behavior and panicky that she herself might be losing her mind. I had the disconcerting sense that it was not me who was having my thoughts, she writes, but my thoughts that were having me. (For a time, while living in Ireland, she found herself drinking heavily, spending her days alternating between two local dives.) Throughout, McCloskey praises her mother as the constant in Mike’s life, a kindhearted woman driven, perhaps, by the vain hope that the son she once knew would someday return. --Allison Block

Review

"Written with great care and simplicity." — Anne Enright

"An extravagantly gifted writer." — Rachel Cusk

"Novelist McCloskey never really got to know her brother, Mike, 14 years her senior, before schizophrenia had taken hold of him, and decides to learn about his life before and everything he lost after in her clear-eyed and heartbreaking story…And her tender tribute nevertheless brings healing, and grants her and her family a new way to connect to their son and brother." — Publishers Weekly

"Fiction writer McCloskey tackles the prickly subject of schizophrenia in this bracing memoir about her older brother, Mike. In heartbreaking detail, she recounts Mike’s descent from smart, handsome intercollegiate athlete to muttering, wool-capped, house-bound stranger." — Booklist

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07QMRDWQ4
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ ABRAMS Press; 1st edition (October 25, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 25, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3.8 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 233 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 out of 5 stars 51 ratings

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Molly McCloskey

Molly McCloskey

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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
51 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book insightful, particularly regarding mental illness, with one review noting how it sheds light on a difficult and painful topic. The writing quality receives positive feedback, with customers describing it as well written.

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9 customers mention "Insight"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful, particularly noting its deep exploration of mental illness, with one customer describing it as a clear-eyed account of family dynamics.

"...She traces her family history filled with glamour, ordinary struggles, wins and losses through the dynamic end of the twentieth century into the..." Read more

"Ms. McCloskey writes a very honest tale about her relationship with her much older brother who was diagnosed with schizophrenia...." Read more

"This is a thoughtful, honest and beautifully written book that sheds light on a very difficult and painful topic...." Read more

"...It was excellent, well written, informative, and realistic...." Read more

5 customers mention "Writing quality"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well written, with one noting it's an easy read.

"...This is an easy read with a mix of information about the condition as she related it to her and her family's life, exactly what I was looking..." Read more

"...Author Molly McCloskey shows herself to be a gifted writer as well as someone possessed of both courage and insight...." Read more

"...It was excellent, well written, informative, and realistic...." Read more

"McCloskey is a writer of patience, subtlety and grace...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Larry Lavin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fine writing discovers dignity in loss
    Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Molly Mc Closkey, an American whose skilled writing has been sharpened in Ireland, in a near perfect work, pieces together a life for her mentally ill brother Mike whom she has avoided thinking about for years. Molly was nine when Mike, her oldest brother, at 23 was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Not until she is an adult does she bridge her fear and guilt about him. She traces her family history filled with glamour, ordinary struggles, wins and losses through the dynamic end of the twentieth century into the present day when little more seems to be known about mental illness than when we institutionalized its sufferers. This clear-eyed account of her family details the wide range of theories popular in the sixties. seventies and eighties which raised questions and hopes for treatment and independent lives for the ill. Her brother's journey is documented by what she can find in letters, conversations with his friends and an eloquent intimacy with her mother, Anita, whose abiding love and respect for Mike is the passion of the story. The discovery of Mike's "independent" life is not what might be expected. Beautifully honest observations of a loving family dealing with the still most puzzling illness we face.
    One person found this helpful
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  • John Dianni
    4.0 out of 5 stars Hits Close to Home
    Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Ms. McCloskey writes a very honest tale about her relationship with her much older brother who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I recently had a family member pass away that was schizophrenic and wanted to learn a little bit more about the condition. This is an easy read with a mix of information about the condition as she related it to her and her family's life, exactly what I was looking for.

    I enjoyed it so much that I bought it for my mother and she finished it in a day.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Dan Sperling
    5.0 out of 5 stars honest and beautifully written book that sheds light on a very difficult ...
    Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    This is a thoughtful, honest and beautifully written book that sheds light on a very difficult and painful topic. Author Molly McCloskey shows herself to be a gifted writer as well as someone possessed of both courage and insight. CIRCLES AROUND THE SUN is her moving portrait of an older brother of infinitely bright prospects who was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was in his early twenties. In describing his struggles, she also reveals a great deal about herself, the rest of her family and the affects of mental illness on the loved ones of the afflicted. CIRCLES AROUND THE SUN is a remarkable story that readers are not likely to forget.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Jen Griffin
    3.0 out of 5 stars It's ok
    Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    The first part of this book was ok, but I just couldn't seem to get past the middle - I think I was waiting for something exciting to happen, and maybe it would of if I finished the book. I thought it wold have more of the crazy stuff the brother did, and again, the first part showed what he was like before the sickness took over, but I just couldnt' seem to keep reading to find out....
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  • Brenda Paton
    5.0 out of 5 stars Circles around the sun, an excellent book!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I chose this book because my sister recommended it. It was excellent, well written, informative, and realistic. I would highly recommend this book to families with members who have this illness, and to health professionals who could benefit from the insight and the impact of this illness on all members of the family and community.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • RSW Kindle Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars thought provoking
    Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Fascinating, thought provoking book. It's an intriguing, verry honest look into how mental health issues effect the whole family and the gradual decline of the brother once thought of as the family 'golden child." There were times when I found the author a little self-indulgent, I often wondered how she had so much time to reflect upon her own happiness and self fulfillment but otherwise a great book.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Joseph O'Keefe
    5.0 out of 5 stars Heart-rending and poignant
    Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    McCloskey is a writer of patience, subtlety and grace. Here she provides an account that is at once an unflinching, dispassionate search for factual understanding and a brave, deeply personal inquiry into the nature of compassion and feelings of guilt. Worth every page of investment.
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  • M.Bentler
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great insight into what mental illness does to those around them
    Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Great insight into mental illness and what it does to a family. Molly spent a lot of time about herself and her brother's affects on her. I would have like to "hear" more of his story.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Laura
    1.0 out of 5 stars Never arrived
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2018
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    Never arrived
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