Mark Lukach

Although I found myself both frustrated and angry at times reading about his actions and his wife’s actions I absolutely loved the honesty Lukach wrote. Mental illness is such a hard and difficult road to maneuver for all parties involved and it’s so easy to get wrapped up in what’s right and what’s wrong instead of what works for you and your loved one. I am very interested in how things are going now and if things have gotten more manageable. I am also very curious about his wife’s point of view on her illness.
Overall a great read and a great insight to the chaos and uncertainty of dealing with mental illness and the health care system.… (altro)

I don't usually read memoirs, so I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this up, but the subject matter sounded intriguing. I've had anxiety my entire life, and I battled with postpartum depression after my daughter was born, so mental health is a topic that's always interested me. I was worried perhaps this would be too heartbreaking for me, and too difficult to read, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Lukach handles his wife's mental illness with so much compassion -- and yet he's realistic as well. I particularly appreciated the fact that he didn't gloss over his own hardship as caretaker of his mentally ill wife, and his young son. That kind of nonstop caregiving takes a toll, and I was glad he explained how he handled that aspect of his responsibilities.

My only slight complaint is that I wish there was a way to get Giulia's viewpoint in the book as well, because from Mark's perspective she comes across as incredibly self-absorbed, and a pretty terrible, distant mother who has no real relationship with her son. That may or may not be the case, and I would have liked to know her take on parenting, marriage, and mental illness. But perhaps that's for another book.

Overall, this was a very loving and authentic take on what it's like to care for a spouse suffering from a very serious mental illness. I appreciated Mark Lukach's honest handling of a difficult topic.… (altro)

This is a well-written book by a husband who loves his wife beyond all measure and about how difficult it is to be part of someone's life who experiences psychosis and suicidal depression. Psychosis effects the entire family - spouse, parents, child. Mark Lukach is able to share his (and his wife's) experience without succumbing to a "poor me" attitude. While clearly life and their relationship changes and is very difficult both during and after a psychotic break, there is a maturity in Mark and Guilia's love and devotion to each other.

I tend to stay away from Memoirs because it has been my experience that many of them are not well written. That is not true of My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward and I highly recommend it.… (altro)