Eyes Without Sparkle: A Journey Through Postnatal Illness

Hanzak, an elementary school teacher, and her teacher husband looked forward to bringing home their new baby boy to be a family. At first Hanzak assumed the rigors of the birth and its complications, and the needs of her baby, including a brief but serious undiagnosed illness, were the reasons for her emotional distress and uncontrollable behaviors. Soon, however, she was in a mental institution receiving electroshock treatment. She emerged to the care and support of professionals and family, returned to teaching and began to spread the word about postnatal emotional illness. Hanzak’s account of her experience is honest and unflinching, as is her assessment of the medical and mental health care she received. She frames her memoir with observations by health care professionals and supplies a list of resources for those encountering postnatal mental illness in the UK. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)