Songs of Three Islands: A Memoir [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

...a multi-layered weave of family memoir, myth and Jungian premonition that reads at times like a gothic novel. --The Guardian, 2 May 2009

Songs of three islands is a stunning memoir about the astounding Carnegie family's struggle with mental illness combined with a beautifully evoked meditation on motherhood and madness. In describing five generations of mental instability in the female line of her family Millicent Monks attempts to bring mental illness out of the shadows and comfort those who are suffering from thoughts and feelings they don t always understand. In her own words People, they say, are divided into two kinds: those who have known inescapable sorrow and those who have not. Because sorrow cannot be changed, one s lifestyle and feelings must be changed to accommodate it. This heartfelt account highlights the struggle and frustration felt as you watch those you love being destroyed by mental illness. It's easy to presume that having riches beyond your wildest dreams automatically means you have it all, but being blighted by mental illness is something many families, rich and poor alike, struggle to come to terms with. This memoir will not only leave the reader feeling positive and enlightened, but filled with enormous admiration for and gratitude towards Millicent Monks for sharing this unique story about her legendary family. This frank account highlights her own personal struggle and determination to survive against many odds.

Born into the legendary Carnegie family, in which serious mental illness has affected four generations of women, Millicent Monks' early childhood was lonely and difficult. After a career in music she married and spent a year at Cambridge University where her husband was a Fiske scholar. They have two children and mental illness in the family has continued to play a prominent and overwhelming part in her life. Her search for answers led her to Jungian analysis, meditation and sutras which have helped her to find a delicate peace amid the effects of her devastating family inheritance.