The Heart Too Long Suppressed: A Chronicle of Mental Illness

By Carol Hebald

After a Psychiatrist spitefully told Carol Hebald that she would someday commit suicide, that it was simply a question of when, something inside her clicked. Thirteen years later, in a move that would... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1555534821
• ISBN13: 9781555534820
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Northeastern University Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.0" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

A book worthy of a movie

I found this book incredibly insightful and admire the courage it took for Carol Hebald to open up her life and let us in. Her story is probably one of thousands if not millions who have been misdiagnosed by the mental health profession. By the end of the book it seemed perfectly clear to me that if Carol had not taken control of her own life and had not thrown the toxic pharmaceutical cocktails overboard once and for all, she would have been a lifelong victim of psychiatry. Carol's book can help countless people realize the label they have been given by the psychiatrist is just that, a label, with no actual meaning or strength to it, except that which the individual or society grants to it. I applaud her for writing a book that can and will change people's life for the better! Dave Statter Executive Producer of the film Prescription:suicide?

Behind the poet

Anyone who is fortunate enough to have encountered Carol Hebald's poetry knows the wonder of being exposed to an extraordinary talent, one which some of today's most successful authors and novelists envy. Now we know at what cost to her this skill was engendered.I would like to see an annotated volume, in which her poetry can be read in the context of the story that unfolds in "The Heart Too Long Suppressed".

Inspirational

Carol Hebald's story of overcoming the assumed difficulties that she would have in life is an inspiration; not only to those who have dealt with mental illness, but also to those who have had real and/or perceived constraints put upon them by various medical facilities/personal. I enjoyed reading Carol's memoires and sharing in the tales that brought her to where she is now.

An enthralling must-read memoir.

Actress/author/professor Carol Hebald's THE HEART TOO LONG SUPPRESSED is an enthralling memoir of mental illness - her own - written with understanding, breathtaking revelations and, yes, tremendous wit. The reader is led behind the scrim that would seem to separate the rest of us from this disease and our only partially realized, rarely totally sane, selves.By the time Hebald reaches middle age, she discovers that the parent-guide whom she always sought through much emotional turmoil in truth existed and exists within herself and in God. The reader cannot help but see a parallel life path in every person on earth.Beautifully written with compelling can't-put-down force and much spit-fire repartee, this is a must read. I do hope someone is wise enough to transfer Hebald's masterful work into film.

A major accomplishment.

Intimate in its personal revelations, yet universal in scope, The Heart Too Long Suppressed is a powerful and gripping account of one woman's courageous struggle to come to terms with a difficult past. Toward the end of the book, Hebald speaks briefly about "pain as nourishment" for the artist. Herein lies her strength: She transforms tragedy into lyrical art. I was struck throughout by her dazzling shifts of tone. Her ability to balance between acute perception and precarious illness is nothing short of amazing. This book is a major accomplishment. I recommend it enthusiastically and without reservation.