Blue Genes: A Memoir of Loss and Survival

Christopher (Kit) Lukas's mother committed suicide when he was a boy. He and his brother, Tony, were not told how she died. No one spoke of the family's history of depression and bipolar disorder. The brothers grew up to achieve remarkable success; Tony as a gifted journalist (and author of the classic book, Common Ground), Kit as an accomplished television producer and director. After suffering bouts of depression, Kit was able to confront his family's troubled past, but Tony never seemed to find the contentment Kit had attained—he killed himself in 1997. Written with heartrending honesty, Blue Genes captures the devastation of this family legacy of depression and details the strength and hope that can provide a way of escaping its grasp.