Four Rooms, Upstairs: A Psychotherapist's Journey Into and Beyond Her Mother's Mental Illness Audiobook

Four Rooms, Upstairs-a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Award-is the story of Linda Appleman Shapiro, an immigrant daughter who grew up on the top floor of a small home in 1940s Brooklyn, and struggled to understand her mentally ill mother. For years Linda tried to ignore the phases when her mother was "not herself." As the youngest child and only girl, Linda spent many days at home alone with her mother, watching her battle memories of loss and despair, unable to cope. But at that time, her mother was not seen as mentally ill-she was simply ill. Linda was appalled by the treatments prescribed to her mother and determined to make life better for her family. Linda eventually persevered, becoming a psychotherapist to help others like her and her mother, and marrying acclaimed audiobook narrator George Guidall. This poignant audiobook, touched with both sweetness and sorrow, is narrated by Suzanne Toren.

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"Linda tells of her family's struggle to understand the wife and mother they lived with in those Four Rooms, Upstairs during the 1940's and 50's when mental illness was misunderstood and often left untreated, or treated with electric shock therapy. "

— Carolyn (5 out of 5 stars)