Because I Come from a Crazy Family: The Making of a Psychiatrist

Psychiatrist Hallowell (Driven to Distraction) handily illustrates in this entertaining memoir the adage that people go into psychiatry because they want to understand themselves and their families. Hallowell grew up in the Boston area in a family afflicted by the “triad of alcoholism, politesse, and mental illness.” His father, who was later diagnosed as bipolar, wasn’t the same after he returned from WWII with PTSD, his mother was an alcoholic, and his brother suffered from bipolar disorder and alcoholism. Hallowell fondly recalls studying at Exeter, where he embraced creative writing and developed a love of literature; his heady days at Harvard; and his years in medical school at Tulane. After he decided to specialize in child psychiatry, he learned about ADD and eventually established himself as an expert in the disorder. Hallowell asserts that he works on himself morally and spiritually and believes that he has achieved a “fairly good outcome as far as character is concerned.” While the narrative moves too quickly at times, Hallowell is earnest in his assessments about his search for his life’s calling. (June)