While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence

Content Warning: This section contains discussions of suicide and mental illness.

The setting of the postwar era is a motif that lays the foundation for the first half of Meg Kissinger’s life and her family history. Jean and Holmer’s marriage began in 1950 and lasted until Jean’s death. In many ways, Jean and Holmer’s lives and their decisions were shaped by the era in which they grew up and raised their children—the Great Depression and World War II led to a cultural environment that prized both lavishness and projecting an image of perfection and happiness, contributing to the theme of The Dangers of Concealing Pain. Because of such societal attitudes, Kissinger’s parents both had undiagnosed or mistreated mental illness, which affected not only them but also their eight children. The postwar era also brought a newfound interest in medication, illustrated by Holmer’s success in pharmaceuticals, but Kissinger also highlights, through Jean’s experiences, the relatively unknown effects of such medication. 

Growing up in this era, witnessing her parents’ struggles and how this trauma was passed on to their children, Kissinger was inspired to spend her life promoting the idea of Humanizing Mental Illness and Improving Care.