BKMT READING GUIDES
Gorilla and the Bird: A Memoir of Madness and a Mother's Love
by Zack McDermott
Published: 2017-09-26
Kindle Edition : 289 pages
Kindle Edition : 289 pages
0 members reading this now
5 clubs reading this now
0 members have read this book
5 clubs reading this now
0 members have read this book
*Soon to be an HBO limited series*
"Glorious...one of the best memoirs I've read in years...a tragicomic gem about family, class, race, justice, and the spectacular weirdness of Wichita. [McDermott] can move from barely controlled hilarity to the brink of rage to aching tenderness in a ...
"Glorious...one of the best memoirs I've read in years...a tragicomic gem about family, class, race, justice, and the spectacular weirdness of Wichita. [McDermott] can move from barely controlled hilarity to the brink of rage to aching tenderness in a ...
No other editions available.
Jump to
Introduction
*Soon to be an HBO limited series*
"Glorious...one of the best memoirs I've read in years...a tragicomic gem about family, class, race, justice, and the spectacular weirdness of Wichita. [McDermott] can move from barely controlled hilarity to the brink of rage to aching tenderness in a single breath."
--Marya Hornbacher, New York Times Book Review
Zack McDermott, a 26-year-old Brooklyn public defender, woke up one morning convinced he was being filmed, Truman Show-style, as part of an audition for a TV pilot. Every passerby was an actor; every car would magically stop for him; everything he saw was a cue from "The Producer" to help inspire the performance of a lifetime. After a manic spree around Manhattan, Zack, who is bipolar, was arrested on a subway platform and admitted to Bellevue Hospital.
So begins the story of Zack's freefall into psychosis and his desperate, poignant, often hilarious struggle to claw his way back to sanity. It's a journey that will take him from New York City back to his Kansas roots and to the one person who might be able to save him, his tough, big-hearted Midwestern mother, nicknamed the Bird, whose fierce and steadfast love is the light in Zack's dark world.
Before his odyssey is over, Zack will be tackled by guards in mental wards, run naked through cornfields, receive secret messages from the TV, befriend a former Navy Seal and his talking stuffed monkey, and see the Virgin Mary in the whorls of his own back hair. But with the Bird's help, he just might have a shot at pulling through, starting over, and maybe even meeting a partner who can love him back, bipolar and all.
Introducing an electrifying new voice, GORILLA AND THE BIRD is a raw and unforgettable account of a young man's unraveling and the relationship that saves him.
Discussion Questions
No discussion questions at this time.Book Club Recommendations
Recommended to book clubs by 0 of 0 members.
MEMBER LOGIN
BECOME A MEMBER it's free
Book Club HQ to over 88,000+ book clubs and ready to welcome yours.
SEARCH OUR READING GUIDES
Search
FEATURED EVENTS
PAST AUTHOR CHATS
JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
Get free weekly updates on top club picks, book giveaways, author events and more
Get free weekly updates on top club picks, book giveaways, author events and more
![](images/button-close-x-fs8.png)
Please wait...