Taking a Stand.

[captainsblog]

I've mentioned, several times, that Eleanor built a camera stand for Em so she can mount her digital camera, manipulate it from her computer, and create her yearlong senior animation project.  Most of our discussions about it, until yesterday, were about the logistics of the camera and stand and such; I'd forgotten what the subject of the actual film was.

Mom filled me in.

Emily's film is going to be tackling depression. It's a disease that she deals with from inheritances on both sides. Eleanor and I have both had our moments, our diagnoses, our treatments for it.  It affects far more of the world than was ever acknowledged even 20 years ago, and she's showing amazing bravery in facing it in her artistic development.

This weekend, at least, she's not alone.

Moments after dropping off her Mom with the camera stand yesterday, I heard a local segment on the Rochester NPR station's broadcast of Morning Edition- an interview with Mariel Hemingway. Famed actress in her own right, sister of a 70s supermodel, and granddaughter of "Papa" and all the legend that attaches to him.  She's just done a documentary about her own demons, and those of those rels, titled Running from Crazy, which is being screened in Rochester on Saturday night, and at which she will be speaking.  The interview covered much of the same territory as this article from the University of Rochester, where she lays bare a lot of that family history:

Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of writer Ernest Hemingway, says she has been “running from crazy” her whole life.  Mental illness and suicide have been pervasive in her family, and she has personally battled depression and suicidal thoughts.  The Academy-award winning actor, author, eco-enthusiast and healthy lifestyle advocate will share her story of struggle and triumph during a public presentation at the University of Rochester Medical Center on Saturday, September 14 beginning at 11:15 a.m.

...URMC Psychiatry chair and CSPS co-director Eric D. Caine, M.D. says Hemingway’s visit will help increase understanding that suicide is preventable with proper risk evaluation and effective intervention.

“One of the center’s responsibilities is to cast light on this serious public health challenge and, while doing so, reaffirm there is hope to save lives,” says Caine.  “Hemingway’s story is about survival in the face of a tremendous amount of adversity.”

....Hemingway is in Rochester for a screening of her autobiographical documentary, Running from Crazy, at the 2013 Greentopia Film Festival.  The film is showing at The Little Theatre, 240 East Avenue in Rochester, on Saturday, September 14 beginning at 9 p.m.  It will be followed by a discussion with Hemingway, moderated by film critic Jack Garner. Tickets are $10 in advance, or $12 at the door.  Advance tickets can be purchased online at GreentopiaFest.com.

I remember little about Mariel other than Woody Allen's working her into the cast of Manhattan at a very early age, and the later stories about her own struggles with fame and the even more fatal ones of her sister Margaux, who died on the anniversary of Ernest's own suicide and was ruled to be one itself.

As Eleanor has posted in the past day, our own child's life has been touched by mental illness in a sad and acute way. One of her high school classmates, once admired for his family's accomplishments, is now struggling to rehab himself from a massive psycotic episode, which followed not long after his own father's death and his own brother's suicide.  Even though I only vaguely remembered the kid (and knew nothing about the father or brother), their story touched and troubled me as a reminder of just how fragile we all are- no matter how successful, or popular, or talented we may be or be perceived to be.  Awareness of these limitations, and willingness to admit problems and accept help for them, seem more important than ever.  I freely admit my own limitations, and vulnerability, and depend on each and every one of you in varying ways for the love and support you provide- even if it's just by reading these words.

Comments

[tilia-tomentosa.livejournal.com]

You've raised a brave daughter. :)

*hugs for all of you*