Blog 5

Reading 72 Hour Hold by Bebe Moore Campbell gives an insight into mental illness and psychological disorders by showing us readers what the loved ones of those struggling with wither of those goes through. In other novels we have read, for example, Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me, we follow Ellen Forney through her struggle with Bipolar Disorder. In 72 Hour Hold, we get to read Keri’s (Trina’s mom) perspective.

While reading this novel, I found it so interesting to be able to see what it was like for Trina’s mom as she struggled to get her daughter the help she needed. I always knew it was a struggle for the loved ones of those struggling with mental illness or psychological disorders, but I never really knew much about what it was like for them. I personally have anxiety, so I know how hard it is/was for my parents especially when I was younger and would worry about even the smallest things. If I knew I was going to be going somewhere the next day that would be full of people, I would worry all night long to the point of making myself sick which in turn would mean my mom would be up with me all night.

72 Hour Hold showed us that many times those who are suffering from a mental illness or psychological disorder do things they don’t even realize they are doing, or do things that they don’t mean to do. For example, we see Trina destroy her mother’s house because of the things going on in her head. She didn’t mean to do it, and wouldn’t if she was having a “good” day. This is the episode that caused her to be diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder.

There are two themes that really stick out to me in this novel. The first one being “mental illness affects everyone associated with that person, especially the close family.” In this novel, we see Trina’s mother trying her best to get Trina the help she needs to get her bipolarity under control. Personally, I feel that if Keri wasn’t there with Trina every step of the way, that Trina may not have gotten the help she needed on her own.

The other theme that really stood out to me in this novel is “fight for what you beleive in.” Keri knew that her daughter needed help, and she knew that she needed to do something for her, so she did everything it took to get her that help. First, Trina was put on a 72-hour hold, then she got out and went into an outpatient rehabilitation program, etc. It is because of Keri fighting for what she believed in that Trina got the help she needed.