More from Karen Brown
Living with Hypochondria: The Real Costs of Imagined Illness
(00:28:56)
From: Karen Brown
Woody Allen made hypochondria famous as a source of self-deprecating humor, but this clinical condition can be seriously debilitating for individuals and their families -- ...
Surrogacy Among Friends
(00:06:58)
From: Karen Brown
A woman carries a baby to term for her best friend, whose chronic disease would make pregnancy hazardous.
Child Obesity - Part Three - Spreading the Lifestyle
(00:05:17)
From: Karen Brown
Families in the low-income community of Holyoke, MA -- who successfully lost weight through a community clinic program -- are trying to share their newfound lifestyle with ...
Child Obesity - Part Two - Kihuanna's Story
(00:05:17)
From: Karen Brown
This feature profiles a 9-year-old girl named Kihuanna who, at 4 foot one and 139 pounds, has a body mass index twice what it should be. With the help of her family and ...
Child Obesity - Part One -- The Clinical Approach
(00:05:05)
From: Karen Brown
One health center in Holyoke, MA addresses the 50 percent rate of overweight and obese children in this predominantly low-income, Puerto Rican community.
Women's College Cheerleaders Challenge Stereotype
(00:05:02)
From: Karen Brown
A new cheerleading squad at one of the country's pre-eminent women's colleges -- alma mater of Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan -- is raising eyebrows with its short skirts ...
Urgent Care Clinics -- Taking on the Primary Care Overflow in Health Care
(00:05:21)
From: Karen Brown
Urgent Care clinics are doing brisk business as the primary care shortage sends patients their way.
Veterans on Campus - A Challenge to Adjust
(00:05:03)
From: Karen Brown
Veterans are entering college in droves thanks to the new GI bill -- but they often need help adjusting to campus life, and not all colleges are prepared for that.
Health Reform Part 3 - Who Benefits from Massachusetts Public Programs
(00:05:28)
From: Karen Brown
Who benefits from the greatly expanded public health programs, and who doesn't.
Health Reform Part 2 - The Individual Mandate in Massachusetts
(00:05:35)
From: Karen Brown
How the Massachusetts public is responding to the law that requires them to buy health insurance
Related Pieces
Piece Description
The trauma of growing up with a mentally ill sister or brother is often overshadowed by the illness itself. But siblings on the sidelines of mental illness can suffer life-long consequences. This documentary explores their experiences, in the context of research on a "well sibling syndrome." It also features two intimate portraits: a mother caring for one young daughter with bipolar disorder, alongside two other children; and twin sisters -- one with schizophrenia, the other without. Winner of three national awards.
Broadcast History
First aired on WFCR, Amherst in June, 2006. An abridged version aired on Weekend Edition Saturday in May 2007.
The documentary won: a Gracie Allen Award from AWRT; a 2007 Mental Health America media award; and First place (radio category) from Association of Health Care Journalists.
Transcript
A BURDEN TO BE WELL:
SISTERS AND BROTHERS OF THE MENTALLY ILL
INTRODUCTION:
KARI: THIS IS ?A BURDEN TO BE WELL: SISTERS AND BROTHERS OF THE MENTALLY ILL?, A RADIO DOCUMENTARY.
THE DEVASTATING EFFECTS OF MENTAL ILLNESS HAVE BEEN WELL DOCUMENTED IN FILMS, BOOKS, AND ACADEMIA. BUT UNTIL RECENTLY, THERE'S BEEN LITTLE SAID ABOUT THE SISTERS AND BROTHERS OF THE MENTALLY ILL. IF ? AS MANY EXPERTS AGREE -- ONE OUT OF FIVE AMERICANS HAS A SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS ? THAT?S 40 MILLION PEOPLE ? WHICH MEANS THEIR SIBLINGS MUST NUMBER AT LEAST TWICE THAT MANY. A BODY OF RESEARCH ON WHAT?S CALLED A ?WELL-SIBLING? SYNDROME IS STARTING TO EMERGE ? ALONG WITH A GROWING NUMBER OF PERSONAL MEMOIRS. COMING UP, WFCR?S KAREN BROWN BRINGS US TWO INTIMATE SIBLING PORTRAITS. BUT FIRST, SHE TALKS TO A RANGE OF SIBLINGS AND EXPERTS ON THE WAYS MENTAL ILLNESS AFFECTS ITS CLOSEST BYSTANDERS.
PART...
Read the full transcript
Timing and Cues
Runs 29:30 with no breaks. Short music bridges included.
Additional Files
- Pam Spiro Wagner;Carolyn Spiro (sibling_pam_and_carolyn.jpg)
- Audrey, Deb and Rose Stanas (sibling_deb_audrey_rose.jpg)
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Taki Telonidis
Posted on July 18, 2007 at 04:18 AM | Permalink
Review of A Burden to be Well: Sisters and Brothers of the Mentally Ill
This deeply moving documentary reveals the hidden suffering of the sisters and brothers of the mentally ill. The range of distress experienced by these so-called ?well siblings? includes guilt for not being the one afflicted, resentment toward the ill sibling, and post traumatic stress disorder. Reporter Karen Brown threads together interviews with a wide variety of well siblings and experts to call attention to the stresses and burdens of being the ?normal? child in a household turned upside down by mental illness. The listener is taken to two such homes, where the relationship between the ill and the well sibling is exposed for all its complexity; stresses and resentments are openly discussed?as is the unique bond that these siblings have for each other. Powerful radio about a powerful subject.