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Dr. Mark Vonnegut, son of famed writer Kurt, recounts his personal battles with mental illness
Dr. Mark Vonnegut
http://www.livewellnebraska.com/health/hansen-dr-mark-vonnegut-son-of-famed-writer-kurt-recounts/article_11dd28fe-dbb2-547e-8a0f-4720458d62fc.html
Posted: Thursday, April 23, 2015 12:45 am
By Matthew Hansen / World-Herald columnist
Sometimes Dr. Mark Vonnegut’s telephone would ring, and he would pick it up, and one of the most famous writers of the 20th century would be on the other end.
“Hey, Mark.”
“Hi, Dad.”
“Too bad about your profession.”
FULL story at link.
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Mark Vonnegut grew up in a family of artists, and a family littered with adults exhibiting signs of mental illness.
His father, Kurt, authored three of the most famous books of the Vietnam era: “Cat’s Cradle,” “Slaughterhouse-Five” and “Breakfast of Champions.” He was also a POW in World War II, an experience that scarred his life and might have ruined it if he hadn’t found an outlet in his literary work.
“Without writing, my father would have been just another veteran with PTSD,” Vonnegut said.
His mother, Jane Marie Cox, was a brilliant woman who successfully raised Mark, his two siblings, the children of a relative and “was a mother to the neighborhood,” Mark said. She also couldn’t leave the house without flipping on certain light switches and flipping off others, because she believed that if the light switch pattern wasn’t right, the house would burn down.
His father, Kurt, authored three of the most famous books of the Vietnam era: “Cat’s Cradle,” “Slaughterhouse-Five” and “Breakfast of Champions.” He was also a POW in World War II, an experience that scarred his life and might have ruined it if he hadn’t found an outlet in his literary work.
“Without writing, my father would have been just another veteran with PTSD,” Vonnegut said.
His mother, Jane Marie Cox, was a brilliant woman who successfully raised Mark, his two siblings, the children of a relative and “was a mother to the neighborhood,” Mark said. She also couldn’t leave the house without flipping on certain light switches and flipping off others, because she believed that if the light switch pattern wasn’t right, the house would burn down.
Tragic.
Glad he's speaking about it, good for him.
RIP Kurt.
