When investigative reporter Meg Kissinger set out to write her first article on America’s mental health system, her goal was to explore the discrimination and barriers to care that exist for people with mental illness. She traveled across the country covering this complex topic for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Her compelling stories led her to become a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and she won dozens of awards as she advocated nationwide for better living conditions, and higher standards of medical care for those suffering with mental health conditions.

Then, Meg decided to focus on a much more personal project. With the support of her siblings, she wrote a powerful memoir of the mental illness present in her own family as she grew up in the 1970s and lost two siblings to suicide. While You Were Out: A Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence, was published in September 2023; it has continued to receive national acclaim for its honest and stirring portrayal of the pain, love, and fortitude that Meg and her family experienced together.

“After 25 years or so (of investigating the mental health system in the United States), I just decided that the most impactful way that I can tell this story is to turn the notebook on myself, and my family, in hopes that we could be a candle in the window, a little beacon for others who are going through what we went through,” Meg said.

Raising awareness about suicide and mental illness

Meg befriended many people with mental illness as she researched and wrote about their living conditions and treatment options. “I have found that when you really get to know people who are suffering from mental illness, on a deeper level, you’ll often find that they are the most loving, caring, tender, and sometimes even hilarious people that you’ll meet,” she said.

The Kissinger family endured a great deal of suffering during a time when mental illness was not discussed openly as a medical condition. “Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, we didn’t have the language to talk about it. We didn’t know what was happening before us,” she said, adding “I’m heartened by the fact that, in recent years, and I think the pandemic has a lot to do with this…there appears to me to be so much more empathy and understanding. People are talking about their issues in ways they didn’t before.”

She also is enthused by initiatives expanding in the Catholic Church, like the Catholic Mental Health Ministry that is encouraging parishes across the nation to have active ministries to support parishioners who have mental illness in their families. Meg admires Catholic Charities LOSS (Loving Outreach to Survivors of Suicide) Program and its founder Fr. Charles T. Rubey. “The LOSS program served my family so well. It should be modeled in every archdiocese throughout the world,” she said.

“Only love and understanding can conquer this disease.”

Meg was the keynote speaker at the annual LOSS Blossoms of Hope brunch in April 2024. At that event, the Kissinger family received the 2024 Fr. Charles T. Rubey Award, which is given annually to those who have made an extraordinary impact on the lives of survivors of suicide. In accepting the award with her siblings, Meg read from a letter that her brother Danny sent her a week before he died. Danny talked about the ways his mental illness affected his life and he said, “Only love and understanding can conquer this disease.”

The Kissinger family members are courageous witnesses, joining together to share their own sad experiences to help individuals and families who are suffering today continue to have hope. “The book was meant to bear witness,” Meg said, “so people see that there’s a generation of people who grew up not dealing with the mental illness of people in their family. Hooray for the fact that we are now looking at this in a more robust way.”

For more information:

• National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call 9-8-8 24 hours a day to reach a trained professional.
• Catholic Charities Behavioral Health Services: (312) 655-7725 or visit: https://www.catholiccharities.net/behavioral-health-programs/
• Catholic Charities LOSS Program: (312) 655-7283 or visit: https://www.catholiccharities.net/behavioral-healthprograms/loss-loving-outreach-tosurvivors-of-suicide/

While You Were Out: A Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence can be found at amazon.com and at your local bookstore. megkissinger.com