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

In Kissinger’s opinion, what makes grieving loss as a result of suicide different from other types of grief? Examine Kissinger’s assessment of her and her siblings’ struggle to process their loss of Nancy and Danny and how it differed from the ways they grieved their parents.

What was different about experiencing mental illness in the 1950s and 1960s compared to today? What similarities and problems remain, and what does Kissinger suggest can be done to improve these issues?

What was it like for Kissinger and her siblings to grow up in a household where any concern about mental health is kept secret? How did Kissinger’s parents inadvertently stigmatize their own illnesses, along with the problems their children were facing?

How did the Irish Catholic roots of Kissinger’s family affect her parents’ choices and the life that their family had? What positive lessons did Kissinger take from her religion, and what aspects of it did she leave behind?

Analyze Kissinger’s exploration of how a person’s mental health affects the people around them. Consider how Kissinger’s experiences with her parents’ and siblings’ mental illness affected her life and fostered positive personal growth.

Why is Humanizing Mental Illness and Improving Care so important to Kissinger? How did writing her memoir help spread this message?

Consider Kissinger’s rhetorical choices throughout the memoir—e.g., her use of cliches. How do these choices facilitate the work’s meaning?

According to the memoir, what are The Dangers of Concealing Pain and other internal struggles? Examine Kissinger’s exploration of this topic, considering how being open and honest about one’s thoughts, feelings, and personal experiences improves Kissinger’s life throughout the narrative.