Hillbilly Gothic: A Memoir of Madness and Motherhood

By Adrienne Martini

Book Overview

"My family has a grand tradition. After a woman gives birth, she goes mad. I thought that I would be the one to escape."

So begins Adrienne Martini's candid, compelling, and darkly humorous history of her family's and her own experiences with depression and postpartum syndrome.

Illuminating depression from the inside, Martini delves unflinchingly into her own breakdown and institutionalization and traces the multigenerational course of this devastating problem. Moving back and forth between characters and situations, she vividly portrays the isolation -- geographical and metaphorical -- of the Appalachia of her forebears and the Western Pennsylvania region where she grew up. She also weaves in the stories of other women, both contemporary and historic, who have dealt with postpartum depression in all its guises, from fleeting "baby blues" to full-blown psychosis.

Serious as her subject is, Martini's narrative is unfailingly engaging and filled with witty, wry observations on the complications of new motherhood: "It's like getting the best Christmas gift ever, but Santa decided to kick the crap out of you before you unwrapped it." New mothers and those who have struggled with parenthood -- whether or not they dealt with depression -- will find affirmation in this story of triumph, of escape from a difficult legacy, of hope for others, and of the courage to have another baby.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743272765
• ISBN13: 9780743272766
• Release Date: August 2008
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Hillbilly Gothic

I could understand Martini's experience one hundred percent having gone through my own battle with postpartum depression. Even down to coming from a family where both mental illness and the associated evils run rampant. Martini's account of her Appalachian background and family's mental illness is not pretty. Her own descent into "madness" actually made me physically hurt for her. That's not to say she sets herself up to be pitied. Far from it. She recognizes that her story is a common one and because there is still a stigma associated with all mental illness, especially postpartum depression and its darker sister postpartum psychosis, it is a necessary story. I can't say that I recommend this book to everyone - its a tough story to read. But if you do choose to read it I don't think you will be disappointed (and you might even be a little more understanding for having read it).

Great writing skill and a too true memoir about family secrets and forgetting

It is really amazing sometimes how families can deal with an issue like post-partum depression for generations and still not really talk about it or remember it. This is what happened with the author's family, and why her severe PPD, that landed her in a locked psychiatric ward, came as such a shock. Something similar happened in my family with pre-eclampsia (toxemia). Although it had affected many, many family members, and was most likely the cause of death for my greatgrandmother just after giving birth, I had no idea this was the case, and my own near death from it shocked me. Things that happen around childbirth seem to be easily forgotten, perhaps lest it seem like we are somehow blaming the baby. Martini is a wonderful writer, even if she didn't have such a tale to tell. She manages to find surprising metaphors and striking observations even for situations that have been written about often. I would love to have her as a professor. Just a note to perspective readers---the hillbilly part of the title misleads a little. The book is much more a memoir about PPD than about hillbilly life. But it's a great title!

I bought it for the title, but thoroughly enjoyed the book

I saw this book discussed on the Yarn Harlot's web site, and because I am a fan of southern writers, I thought it would be a good read. I was right. I think I am going to add Martini's line, "Like cellulite, dreams come easily," as a signature on my emails. ;)

Mothers everywhere

will find themselves nodding in recognition as they read lines such as: "I can be perfect and completely insane or good enough and sane enough." Adrienne Martini weaves a tale of new motherhood,post-partum depression and family history in a way her readers will find comforting, disturbing, hilarious and heartbreaking. Martini spares little detail in writing about her brush with mental illness, yet she remains likeable and funny throughout the books' darkest passages.

Food for thought for all, mothers or not

Not only did I find Martini's book to be touching, thoughtful, incisive and funny, I found it instructive as a woman, as a daughter and as a member of a society that still has a long way to go in its ability to face and deal with mental illness in any of its forms. The personal narrative of the book is skillfully blended with observations on how mental health can be shaped by genetics and environment and how those around us respond to those changes. A fine read, and an important book.