Final Project Book Review 3

Book Review 3: Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry by Bebe Moore Campbell

Campbell, Bebe Moore. Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry. New York:
Puffin Books, 2003. Print.

Mental illness doesn’t just affect the individual; it affects everyone connected with that individual including his or her family. In Bebe Moore Campbell’s Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry, we as the reader get an inside look at how mental illness affects those we love. The story goes through one day in the life of Annie, a child whose mother suffers from depression. From the moment Annie wakes up and her mother asks, “who wants hot, golden circles?” (Campbell 1) to the moment she returns home from school and her mother says, “STOP ALL THAT SCREAMING…GET IN THIS HOUSE NOW” the reader is given a taste of how depression feels for everyone involved (Campbell 13). The book gives an amazing portrayal of families suffering from depression and how they battle it as one unit. On days like the one mentioned above, Annie knows what she must do; call her grandmother, eat a treat from her special snacks, and most importantly think happy thoughts. The reader is given an inside look at how individuals deal with depression and most importantly how they understand it. The message throughout the story is not just that people suffer from depression, but that those who do never stop loving their family whether some days are good or some days are bad.