An encouraging light

Kate Macdonald Butler, the granddaughter of Lucy Maud Montomery, has revealed the tragic side of her grandmother: that she suffered from horrid depression and took her own life age 67 through a drug overdose:

I wasn't told the details of what happened, and I never saw the note she left, but I do know that it asked for forgiveness.

After having read the poignant Breakdown series on mental health in The Globe and Mail during the summer, I was inspired to reflect upon my own family's history with depression.

Additionally, the recent focus on my grandmother's creativity – this is the 100th anniversary of the publication of Anne of Green Gables, with events around the world celebrating Anne and her creator – has encouraged me to end our silence.

I have come to feel very strongly that the stigma surrounding mental illness will be forever upon us as a society until we sweep away the misconception that depression happens to other people, not us – and most certainly not to our heroes and icons.

Her father was the youngest son of the acclaimed and beloved author and, to make matters worse, his father suffered from mental illness as well.

When the last volume of The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery was published in 2004, I sobbed through it and, in fact, I couldn't even finish it – there was such a profound sadness for me in imagining how my father must have coped with two such depressed parents.

For a young man in the prime of his life, it must have been an overwhelming responsibility. I remembered our late-night conversations and how he shared many memories, yet rarely talked about the burdens he must have felt during his young adult life.

My heart aches for my father, who was left behind to deal with the grief of losing his beloved mother. He carried the secret of the circumstances of her death and maintained the façade of a proper and well-adjusted family because of his desire to protect them and their reputation in the community.

Discussion of this can only help, since it works like a disinfectant on the dark and dingy corners of family life. To recognise that this is not a moral failing or an indication of a lack of faith is critical. Beyond that, folks affected by the mental illness of their loved ones can find support and understanding for their difficult journey as well. This is a bittersweet revelation indeed.

Comments

[elena maria vidal]

A revelation indeed. Makes me love her all the more.

[Enbrethiliel]

+JMJ+

I'm reading Anne of Green Gables right now and planning to read the entire series. I never would have guessed. There is so much beauty and joy in Anne Shirley that it's hard to believe that Montgomery herself was not happy. =(

[Patricia]

I'm not surprised. Some of Montgomery's other books are rather dark.
The Anne of Green Gables series also has some tragedy in it...
I love your blog BTW!