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Highlights
- While working on his second novel, John Sedgwick spiraled into a depression so profound that it very nearly resulted in suicide.
- Author(s): John Sedgwick
- 448 Pages
- Biography + Autobiography, Historical
Description
Book Synopsis
While working on his second novel, John Sedgwick spiraled into a depression so profound that it very nearly resulted in suicide. An author acclaimed for his intimate literary excursions into the rarified, moneyed enclave of Brahmin Boston, he decided to search for the roots of his malaise in the history of his own storied family--one of America's oldest and most notable. Following a bloodline that travels from Theodore Sedgwick, compatriot of George Washington and John Adams, to Edie Sedgwick, Andy Warhol's tragic muse, John Sedgwick's very personal journey of self-discovery became something far greater: a spellbinding study of the evolution of an extraordinary American family.
Review Quotes
"Ingenious...a lurid inversion of the American Dream...it...makes a larger point about the self protective mechanisms of American democracy." -- Wall Street Journal
"Articulate, insightful...and substantial...Mr. Sedgwick provides a clear, incisive view of a complicated family." -- Janet Maslin, New York Times
"Gorgeous...fascinating...it's John Sedgwick's struggles with his own health and identity that give this book its literary power." -- USA Today
"Compelling family biography...These people are...like characters in a very good novel...[Sedgwick] writes with great confidence." -- Linda Wertheimer, NPR's Weekend Edition
"Engrossing, affecting, and enlightening...A grand, candid, and sensitive family memoir...unique in its perspective on American history." -- Donna Seaman, Chicago Tribune
"A gift...The Sedgwick story engages us with the powers and insights of a great novel." -- Boston Globe
"The combination of privilege and affliction is seductive." -- Daily News
"This reading promises to be an excellent portrait, not just of madness, but of one of the major American families." -- Bostonist
"Sedgwick has a keen eye for detail...The finely honed prose glides along effortlessly." -- Publishers Weekly
"The individual stories are fascinating...With a writer's eye for detail, Sedgwick provides an unflinchingly honest chronicle of a...familial odyssey." -- Booklist
"[Sedgwick] offers up a very personal look at his family history." -- Pages
"Astute." -- New York Times
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