1/05/10

In Her Wake: A Child Psychiatrist Explores the Mystery of Her Mother's Suicide

Nancy Rappaport, MD

Show Description:

In 1963, Nancy Rappaport's mother died by suicide after a bitter public divorce and custody battle. Nancy was just four years old and the youngest of six children. Growing up in a blended family of eleven children after her father remarried, Nancy was bewildered about why her mother took her own life and left her behind.

Drawing on court depositions, newspaper coverage, her mother's unpublished novel, and interviews with family and friends, she uncovers the story of a conflicted and troubled activist, socialite, and community leader. Rappaport explores the impact of her mother's suicide from the perspective of a daughter, psychiatrist, wife, and mother of three -- illuminating in the process the complicated nature of loss, reconciliation, and healing.

Inspiring, honest, and engaging, In Her Wake is a powerful testament to a woman's search for answers, and a potent reminder that love outlasts death.
 

http://www.inherwake.com

Guest Bio:

Dr. Nancy Rappaport is a graduate of Princeton University and Tufts University School of Medicine. A board certified child and adolescent psychiatrist, Rappaport is assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School where she teaches undergraduates, medical students, and residents about child development and supervises child psychiatry fellows in local schools. Her research, teaching, and clinical expertise focus on the collaboration between education and psychiatry.

After graduating from Princeton, Rappaport worked as a science teacher at an innovative elementary school in Harlem, New York. In this economically disadvantaged neighborhood with many children hindered by poverty and other issues at home, Rappaport advocated for support for struggling families. “The Children’s Storefront” — a documentary of her work in Harlem — was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary in 1988.

Rappaport’s life-altering experiences in Harlem inspired her to enter medical school and would help launch a robust career.

Graduating from Tufts School of Medicine in 1993, Rappaport completed an internship in pediatrics and a residency in adult psychiatry, both at Massachusetts General Hospital, before completing a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Cambridge Hospital. It was during this fellowship that Rappaport forged a longstanding relationship with the Teen Health Center at Cambridge Rindge & Latin School (CRLS), where she is still employed today.

From 1993-98 Rappaport designed and implemented an advising program at CRLS that focused on the mentoring role of teachers and how student motivation and academic engagement is increased with mentoring. This successful program was institutionalized at CRLS and became a model for similar programs across the country.

Rappaport has worked with the Cambridge public schools as an attending child and adolescent psychiatrist for more than 18 years. She has designed numerous courses for teachers on psychopharmacology, adolescent development, and instructional strategies for disruptive students. She has worked at the national level with the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. With several publications in peer-reviewed journals and multiple invited presentations, she is often called upon for her expertise at both the local and national level.

Most recently, Rappaport authored the memoir In Her Wake: A Child Psychiatrist Explores the Mystery of Her Mother's Suicide (Basic Books, September 2009). In a starred review, Publisher’s Weekly called the book “Fearless … a stunning narrative of perspective, profound sadness and unrelenting hope.”

Rappaport lives in Cambridge, Mass.