Linda Appleman Shapiro's "She's Not Herself"

Title: Publisher's Read

She’s Not Herself by Linda Appleman Shapiro

Reviewed by S. Davis

May 16, 2015

4 p.m.

The best thing about memoirs is getting into the mind of another person and viewing the world from his or her perspective. In Linda Appleman Shapiro’s memoir She’s Not Herself: A Psychotherapist’s Journey Into and Beyond Her Mother’s Mental Illness, she does exactly this. The reader gets to grow up along with Linda and understand events as she understood them at various stages in her life.

It is evident from the very first chapter of the memoir how from an extremely young age, Linda always felt the need to take care of her mother because her mother could not take care of herself. The insights the author is able to make decades after these events have taken place show just how much Linda has grown to understand herself as well as her mother’s depression.

The memoir reads similarly to a journal in that the author seems to be working through her own issues as she is writing them down. This made it easier for me to connect with Linda and the story of her childhood in a way that I could not have connected if the memoir were simply bare facts.

I loved going through the journey of Linda’s life with her throughout the memoir not just because of how easy it was to follow along, but how vivid her memories were. She has such a way with words and storytelling that made me feel as though I were standing right alongside her in her memories. Having had a similar childhood, Linda’s story really made me feel like I’m not alone. She hooked me from the very first sentence and let me go reluctantly at the end.

I would recommend this book to anyone who grew up with less-than-ideal parents, or who fears of becoming like their own parents. In fact, I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to understand depression better than a textbook could convey.

She’s Not Herself is worthy of five out of five stars, hands down.

Until next time,

S. Davis