Child of Madness

Too early, Marion Kahn’s childhood was marred by the harsh realities of life. Her book sets us firmly in the stark reality of her childhood: embracing rare and fleeting moments of affection while watching the members of her family one by one succumb to the erratic behavior of their mental illnesses; struggling to endure the torments of her teachers, family, and peers while worrying about where her next meal would come from; and finding solace in her strong affinity for the wildlife roaming around her childhood home – while daring to dream of a future beyond it all.

With colorful description and honest language, the author takes us through her impressive and eventful life; her readers experience along with her what it was to be a child of a family torn apart by mental illness, a Jewish person during World War II, and a woman tentatively but defiantly coming into her own, struggling to realize and accept her own self-worth despite continual repression and negativity from those around her.

Kahn’s book is no mere memoir, it is a veritable history of the tumultuous social and political climates of the United States between the years of 1930 and 1952. The author brushes elbows with some of the intellectual elite, including W.E.B. DuBois, expands her political sphere of influence, even dabbling in Communism in a categorically “anti-red” era, and comes into her own as a woman of the world in a burgeoning America.

Child of Madness is not just a memoir of a broken young girl; it is the triumphant adventure of a woman strengthened by her survival in the face of all of the challenges of her life. Marion Kahn’s story is one of triumph that will inspire any reader.