#MMBBR A Different Kind of Same: A Memoir by Kelley Clink

Two weeks before his college graduation, Kelley Clink’s younger brother Matt hanged himself. Though he’d been diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a teenager and had attempted suicide once before, the news came as a shock—and it sent Kelley into a spiral of guilt and grief.

After Matt’s death, a chasm opened between the brother Kelley had known and the brother she’d buried. She kept telling herself she couldn’t understand why he’d done it—but the truth was, she could. Several years before he’d been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she’d been diagnosed with depression. Several years before he first attempted suicide by overdose, she had attempted suicide by overdose. She’d blazed the trail he’d followed. If he couldn’t make it, what hope was there for her?

A Different Kind of Same traces Kelley’s journey through grief, her investigation into the role her own depression played in her brother’s death, and, ultimately, her path toward acceptance, forgiveness, resilience, and love. 

Kelley Clink is an advocate for suicide prevention and mental health. She has degrees in literature from the University of Alabama and DePaul University. Her writing has appeared in numerous magazines and literary journals, including Gettysburg Review, Colorado Review, Woman's Day, and The Huffington Post. She is the winner of the 2014 Beacon Street Prize in Nonfiction and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She lives near Chicago with her husband and son.

Wow....what an honest and heart wrenching memoir about the impact of mental illness on the lives of many and the ultimate loss of life due to the struggle.  I love that Clink did not sugar coat the harsh reality of what it is like living with, dealing with and struggling with mental illness.  I am almost at a loss of words regarding this read.  It has so much truth and insight and I commend Clink for sharing it with the world.  I say this a lot when I read memoirs, that is takes such bravery to share it in an attempt to help others.  To expose yourself in your rawest form for the world to judge.  I feel that this memoir will help so many people dealing with mental illness...to know they are not alone...that there can be hope among the sadness.  5 stars