When they're both well past middle age, Claude Pines says to his brother, Paul, "I hope I haven't been too much of a burden."
"I might say the same," Paul says.
This balancing of brotherly love and brotherly burdens is what "My Brother's Madness -- A Memoir," by Glens Falls resident Paul Pines, is about.
Their story begins in Brooklyn and ends in upstate New York. In his life, Paul Pines was a merchant seaman, a taxi driver, a bartender, the proprietor of a jazz club and a writing teacher at Adirondack Community College.
Now he's a psychotherapist and also the host of Lake George's annual jazz weekend.
While Paul takes a winding path to career stability and a healthy relationship with his wife and daughter, Claude struggles always and everywhere. He has a breakdown while studying at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, which ends his dreams of being a doctor like his father. In his 40s, he has a profound psychotic break and is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
Eventually, Claude, too, lives in Glens Falls. Sometimes, he depends on his brother, Paul, for care, sometimes he resents Paul's efforts. For his part, Paul is frustrated by Claude's needs and guilt-ridden if he does not respond.
Together, they replicate a family dynamic familiar to many of us. As caregivers, we vacillate between wanting to care for a relative and wishing he or she was not such a burden. As the one in need, we want and appreciate the other's help but might resent his or her strength and our dependence.
Pines does a wonderful job of capturing this ambivalence, the patience/exasperation that surrounds so many relationships. And he explores -- by telling his life story, his brother's life story and their overlapping story -- the stresses peculiar to siblings.
What one owes one's children and parents is usually far clearer than one's responsibility to a brother or sister. While Pines offers no advice about caring for a sibling, his story provides examples of efforts that worked and those that didn't.
As frustrated as Pines gets, he doesn't blame Claude or anyone else for Claude's illness. Though he gets irritated and tired, he's too smart to come to facile conclusions about the conditions that trouble him and his brother.
In that freedom from blame, he reminds us of another famous memoir about mental illness, Mark Vonnegut's 1975 "Eden Express." In that book, he describes his experiences with schizophrenia.
"A more serious problem with most psychological theories and therapies is that they usually involve placing blame," writes the son of famed novelist Kurt Vonngegut. "According to their model, your parents or your friends or you, yourself, or someone else has screwed up. The fact is, there is no blame. You haven't done anything horribly wrong and neither have your parents or anyone else."
Predictably, this is not an easy read. There is no saccharine "He's not heavy, he's my brother" message filling the pages. Instead, it's filled with the sadness of two brothers. Pines had concerns before he began writing, and one of those was whether Claude had any objections.
Claude says, "What do I have to hide "¦ or lose?"
"It could be painful," Paul tells him.
And surely, it was for them, and is also, often, for the reader -- but the book is definitely worth reading. Pines is an accomplished writer, having published novels and books of poetry. His skill makes "My Brother's Madness" engrossing, insightful, and, finally, hopeful.
Local News
'My Brother's Madness' insightful, hopeful
- Local News
-
-
Ticonderoga faces severe school cuts
The district is starting its new budget process almost $2 million in the hole. Officials are seeking public input on the problem.
-
One injured in Plattsburgh house fire
A female suffered second- and third-degree burns in a fire at her South Catherine Street home early Sunday.
-
Plattsburgh's Sweet Adelines sing music of the heart
Sweet Adelines spread message of love on Valentine's Day with yearly singing valentines.
-
Love between the lines
Dr. Nell Irvin Painter of New Russia and Plattsburgh State's Dr. J.W. Wiley share historical and current viewpoints on interracial loving, American-style.
-
NCCS wins CVAC cheerleading competition
NCCS wins first place for the eighth time in nine years
-
Tentative contract reached with officers
The deal with New York state would cover the 2,800 members of the New York State Correction Officers and Police Benevolent Association who typically work at specialized state centers such as the Sunmount Development Disabilities Services Office in Tupper Lake.
-
Lookback: Feb. 13-19
News stories from around the region from 25, 50, 75 and 100 years ago this week.
-
Of Interest: Feb. 13, 2012
Peru Central School Board to hold budget discussion; Dannemora to discuss highway post; Beekmantown School Board invites budget input; Willsboro School Board to discuss policies; Chazy School Board to discuss budget; SLCS Board to appoint clerk pro-tem; Keeseville Zoning Board cancels meeting; Elizabethtown-Lewis School Board to work on budget.
-
Gourds' shapes create interesting canvas
Georgette Bacon's gourd art is on display through March 10 at Foothills ARTSociety in Malone.
- February 12, 2012
-
NCCS wins CVAC cheerleading competition
NCCS wins first place for the eighth time in nine years
-
One injured in Plattsburgh house fire
A female suffered second- and third-degree burns in a fire at her South Catherine Street home early Sunday.
-
Plattsburgh's Sweet Adelines sing music of the heart
Sweet Adelines spread message of love on Valentine's Day with yearly singing valentines.
-
Ticonderoga faces severe school cuts
The district is starting its new budget process almost $2 million in the hole. Officials are seeking public input on the problem.
-
Tentative contract reached with officers
The deal with New York state would cover the 2,800 members of the New York State Correction Officers and Police Benevolent Association who typically work at specialized state centers such as the Sunmount Development Disabilities Services Office in Tupper Lake.
-
Attempted-murder trial set
The case against Robert J. McCann, who is charged with trying to kill his former girlfriend at a secluded Westville site, begins Tuesday in Franklin County Court.
-
A historic battle for interracial marriage
Forty-five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all remaining state bans on interracial marriage in Loving v. Virginia.
-
Fireworks to close weekend carnival
The final day of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival is filled with activities and events. INCLUDES VIDEO
-
Arts and economic development discussed
A success story about a theater in Glens Falls underscored the importance of the arts at a presentation put on by Partnership for Community Development in Plattsburgh.
-
Ticonderoga faces severe school cuts
- Recent Article Comments






