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Annie's Ghosts: A Journey into a Family Secret Paperback – Illustrated, May 11, 2010

by Steve Luxenberg (Author)

4.1 781 ratings

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Beth Luxenberg was an only child. Or so everyone thought. Six months after Beth's death, her secret emerged. It had a name: Annie.

Praise for Annie's Ghosts

"Annie's Ghosts is one of the most remarkable books I have ever read . . . From mental institutions to the Holocaust, from mothers and fathers to children and childhood, with its mysteries, sadness, and joy--this book is one emotional ride."--Bob Woodward, author of The War Within and State of Denial

"Steve Luxenberg sleuths his family's hidden history with the skills of an investigative reporter, the instincts of a mystery writer, and the sympathy of a loving son. His rediscovery of one lost woman illuminates the shocking fate of thousands of Americans who disappeared just a generation ago."--Tony Horwitz, author of A Voyage Long and Strange and Confederates in the Attic

"I started reading within minutes of picking up this book, and was instantly mesmerized. It's a riveting detective story, a moving family saga, an enlightening if heartbreaking chapter in the history of America's treatment of people born with what we now call special needs." -- Deborah Tannen, author of You Just Don't Understand and You're Wearing That

"This is a memoir that pushes the journalistic envelope . . . Luxenberg has written a fascinating personal story as well as a report on our communal response to the mentally ill." -- Helen Epstein, author of Where She Came From and Children of the Holocaust

"A wise, affecting new memoir of family secrets and posthumous absolution." -- The Washington Post

"Annie's Ghosts will resonate for many, whether the chords have to do with family secrets, the Depression, memories of a thriving Detroit, the Holocaust's horrors, or the immigrant experience." -- The Detroit Free Press

Print length

429 pages
Language

English
Publication date

May 11, 2010
Reading age

18 years and up
Dimensions

5.25 x 1.08 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

1401310192
ISBN-13

978-1401310196
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Annie's Ghosts is one of the most remarkable books I have ever read . . . From mental institutions to the Holocaust, from mothers and fathers to children and childhood, with its mysteries, sadness, and joy--this book is one emotional ride."―Bob Woodward, author of The War Within and State of Denial

"I started reading within minutes of picking up this book, and was instantly mesmerized. It's a riveting detective story, a moving family saga, an enlightening if heartbreaking chapter in the history of America's treatment of people born with what we now call special needs."―Deborah Tannen, author of You Just Don't Understand and You're Wearing That?

"This is a memoir that pushes the journalistic envelope . . . Luxenberg has written a fascinating personal story as well as a report on our communal response to the mentally ill."―Helen Epstein, author of Where She Came From and Children of the Holocaust

About the Author

Steve Luxenberg has been a senior editor with the Washington Post for 27 years. He lives in Baltimore, MD. This is his first book.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hyperion-Acquired Assets; Reprint edition (May 11, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 429 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1401310192
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1401310196
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 1.08 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #982,657 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #210 in Midwest U.S. Biographies
- #275 in Medical Psychology History
- #337 in Popular Psychology History

Customer Reviews:
4.1 781 ratings

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About the author

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Steve Luxenberg

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Steve Luxenberg, an associate editor of The Washington Post, is an award-winning author and journalist. Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation, his second nonfiction book, won the 2016 J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award, recognizing excellence in nonfiction writing.

His first nonfiction book, the critically-acclaimed Annie’s Ghosts, explored a family secret. It was honored as a Michigan Notable Book and selected as the 2013-2014 Great Michigan Read, making it the focus of a state-wide series of events throughout that year. A native of Detroit, he lives in Baltimore with his wife, Mary Jo Kirschman.

Follow him on Twitter, @SLuxenberg, and find out more about him and his books at his website, steveluxenberg.com.

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4.1 out of 5

781 global ratings

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Ranthia

wonderful book

Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2023

Verified Purchase

I read this because it was about Eloise Asylum. But it’s the story of a family secret and a Polish family’s history, how things get buried. All about Detroit in the early days, about asylums in general, and Laws concerning them and how it all changed over many years. I grew up in Detroit so it was of great interest to me.

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Valerie

The story of a search

Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2014

Verified Purchase

I personally found this book very interesting and very hard to put down. After reading some of the other reviews, I found that while many reviewers agreed with me, there were some commonalities among those who didn't like the book.

First, I think it's important to know that the book is not really a "ghost story" and doesn't read like a novel. There was simply not as much information available on Annie herself as we might have liked.

Second, much of the book is about Steve and his search for answers. There is alot of detail about where he found information and how he assessed its accuracy - which is important so many years after the fact. He coudln't just take everything at face value after more than 50 years. There is also much historical detail about Detroit, the Great Depression, the Holocaust, and the treatment of mental illness in the early twentieth century. These things are there because they provide the context for his family at that time. All of them inform us about the family members, their motivation, and what it may have been like for them living in a different time and place. They are also part of the author's education about his mother and aunt and grandparents' lives.

As someone who has done family history research myself, I appreciated what another reviewer called the "rabbit trails." I know that this type of search leads you down those trails, which sometimes lead to great finds and sometimes don't. It's part of the thrill of the hunt for me. "Your mileage may vary," as they say!

In conclusion, I would say that the book is well-written and fascinating--to me and to many others. However, I think it is important that you come to it with accurate expectations. This type of research will leave questions unanswered; it will include alot of background information; and there will be some wondering why you're even bothering--and whether you should. For me, those details make the story what it is. This is real life; don't expect the book to move along smoothly, like a well-constructed novel. It is not that, nor should it be. It is not a fictionalized acccount, but an actual account. So expect the pain, the messiness, the discoveries, the drama, and the unanswered questions that result from our human imperfections and a long-kept secret.

12 people found this helpful

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alasscan

Very Professional Company

Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2023

Verified Purchase

The book I ordered was exactly as described, if not better. Extra care was taken in packing materials used and the package arrived faster than expected.

Helpful

susan'sreviews

A little disappointing

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2014

Verified Purchase

The book is the story of the author's family. His mother always claimed to be an only child and just before her death he finds that was not the case. She had a sister, now deceased who had been committed to Eloise, a state hospital for the poor, disabled and mentally ill. After her death, the author tracks down family members and hospital records to try to gain an understanding of why his mother would have been so secretive about her sister, and to find more information on this previously unknown Aunt. He learns she was physically handicapped, somewhat mentally retarded and suffered from some psychiatric illness. He speculates as to why his mother kept her a secret and how this secret effected other members of the family. I've just stated, however, almost the entire narrative of the book. Most of the book is spent talking to others who may give the author insight or information, but it never leads anywhere else, and there are not any dramatic developments. Rather, it is mainly his speculation on why his mother has an extreme desire for secrecy as to her sister, and what he gleans from comments others make to him. I had expected that this would be an interesting expose on the unique working of such state hospitals, and the unsatisfactory solution of emptying out those hospitals in the name of civil rights, and perhaps his Aunt would be an interesting case study to illustrate it. There certainly is some history on the state hospital system, but the focus is on his own personal quest to understand his own family better and it was sad more than informative. Not a bad read; just not compelling on the topic.

3 people found this helpful

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babybmr

The Real Secret?

Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2015

Verified Purchase

"Annie's Ghost" was very interesting to me. It's kind of history, kind of a geneaology mystery but most of all, it's a family memoir. The pace was a little uneven yet I could not put it down. There are also many characters but I didn't need to remember all the names, just kind of went with the flow. The very things that left me wanting--Annie's or other inmates day-to-day life in the asylum, the grandparents seeming lifelessness--ultimately added to the book's charm for me. When I finished I had that lovely river-of-life feeling. So good to be reminded now and then how small and temporary we all really are!

Unlike some readers, I understand why Annie's sister did what she did, both at the time Annie was institutionalized and afterwards when she did not speak of her sister. She did what she did to save herself and then was silent both for herself personally and so she didn't have to rehash the situation with ignorant, judgmental others.

All that said, there is something very curious about "Annie's." Was she instututionalized because she was pregnant? That question is never even asked let alone explored though it would have been common practice in Annie's era. She was locked up in an institution because she didn't get her period her sister's friend tells the author. We are not told if she simply had never matured or if this only occurred after she was raped. The subject is dropped like a hot potato. I kept waiting for that idea to come up for the entire rest of the book but it conspicuously never did! Like it was chopped out by some editor. Or maybe I just missed something!

12 people found this helpful

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