Well written story told from the perspective of a mother of a teen daughter with bipolar disorder. It's heartbreaking, but very realistic and compelling. The ending felt rushed though.

What a heart wrenching tale of dealing or at least trying to deal with a child with a mental disorder. I felt for Carrie and her strength and determination even when all odds were stacked against her. She took on a lot, which in turn made me wonder why if she fought so hard for her daughter's health would she fight so hard to hold onto the grudge with her rehabilitated mother. I guess we all have our deep rooted issues we need to resolve. Trina was a handful, battling this mental disorder, trying to maintain independence as a legal adult but so child like at the same time. She was lucky to have family who would fight so hard for her health and well being.

‘72 Hour Hold’ is a novel that explores the challenges of mental illness and its impact on the families of those who are sick. The story follows a mother as her daughter struggles with bipolar disorder. Throughout, the main character tries to navigate the mental care system and provide her child with the best care.

I bought this book a long time ago thinking it was a memoir and even though it isn’t the way that events unfold and the way that it’s told reminds me of how memoirs usually are. It was very detailed and the characters felt so real that I had to remind myself that it was a fictional story. However, just because it’s fiction doesn’t mean that the events of this story are fictional in some people's lives.

I found it an interesting take on mental illness. The books that I’ve previously consumed about mental illness take the perspective of the person who is sick whereas this story gives us a look at how a sickness doesn’t only hurt the person with it but the ones who care about them. It explores the faults in the system and how it can let people slip through the cracks.

The desperation of the mother in this book is painful to read. She not only has to come to terms with the fact that her daughter is different but she’s very independent and thinks that she has to fight for her daughters well being alone.

While I think ‘72 Hour Hold’ was a good book, I didn’t enjoy it very much. It has so many details about things that aren’t relevant and while it helps to humanize the main character, I just think it was too much. However, if you want a good book on the impact that mental illness can have on families, this is the book for you.

This was an ok read. It gave me some insight about people that have mental illness and their loved ones and what they have to go through. I have read books by this author in the past and will continue to read books by this author.

I am so conflicted on how I feel about this book.

On the very first page, from the writing style alone, I almost put it down and crossed it off my to be read list for good. Because of the subject matter though, I gave it another shot. I will say that it got easier, began to flow more naturally, and it kept the story moving along more fast-paced, but I never really got comfortable with it.

I like this book because it's doing so many amazing things. Not only is it about bipolar disorder and the concept of involuntary hospitalization, subjects I will read almost any book about, but it's a story about a black girl with mental illness, and

Spoiler

she does not get magically better by the end. There is no cut and dry happy ending. But nor does it end in tragedy and death. It's just a snapshot in time of a real condition that real people are out there living with every day.

But, on the other hand, while it was interesting to read about it from the mother's perspective, and I really appreciated the insights and the emotional honesty of the narrator, I really didn't like how they portrayed Trina and her bipolar disorder. Other than her mother's proud memories of her as a star student about to go to Brown, I didn't really get to know her as the stable, loving person she supposedly was most of the time. Any and all of Trina's behaviors made her mother worry to no end, and while I can't imagine the anguish a parent of a mentally ill child goes through when they go missing, any action of Trina's that her mother didn't explicitly approve of sent her running to the police and calling all the hospitals. In general, I disagree with involuntary hospitalizations. They should be used sparingly and only as a last resort. There is no question that the system is broken, and I loved how her mother was willing to break laws and risk everything to get her daughter help that would actually help, but Trina and all people with mental illnesses are their own people and being placed on a locked ward without your consent as an adult is a traumatizing experience. I had never heard of conservatorship before and that concept scares me greatly.

At the same time, I loved most of the characters in the book and many of them were not afraid to call Keri out on her nonsense. She was definitely more wrapped up in the idea of who her daughter was "meant" to be and had trouble understanding that Trina's illness is lifelong and incurable. That doesn't mean her life is over or has less value, it just may not be what you expected and planned for before. I'm sure that my own mother can relate. I liked the parallel with Angelica, who has borderline personality disorder. I liked the honesty behind Keri trying not to compare the two girls and reassure herself that her daughter wasn't as bad. And I also love that Angelica made it to the other therapy and continued with it, so that the book didn't imply that it was a bad idea, just not the right course for Trina perhaps.

Too much of this book is too close to home for me. My biggest complaint is that I wish we heard more of Trina's point of view, or at least got a better look at her outside of her sickness, and just the general writing style. Overall, I thought the book was suspenseful and quick, easy to read and hard to put down. I liked the plot and the characters, the arc of the narrative, and most of all, the honest portrayal of a very real problem. I don't believe it's the full story, but it's a very compelling insight into one side of it. I didn't want to like it as much as I did, but I'm glad I stuck with it in the end.

I almost didn't finish it. The start was a bit slow and repetitive but I'm glad I stuck with it. It was a real eye opener.

The book started off slow but one it picked up it was pretty interesting. I was intrigued to read about Trina's highs and lows and her mothers fight to find the best care options for her.