Glenn Close's eyes 'burned with tears' reading her family's new book on mental illness
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Glenn Close's younger sister Jessie Close and nephew Calen T. Pick co-authored a new book about their mental illness struggles, Silence You, which hit shelves Tuesday.
'I read Jessie and Calen's book with my heart in my throat, at times, my eyes burning with tears,' the 77-year-old acting legend wrote in her endorsement.
'It is a gripping, heartbreaking, and ultimately, life affirming, step-by-step account of how mental illness can shatter a family, but also how that family, through love and resilience, can not only survive, but triumph. I have deep love, respect, and awe for this book and my two heroes who wrote it.'
Glenn (born Glenda) told People on Wednesday: 'I knew it was very close to what actually happened. It peeled back another layer of what they all went through.'
Back in 2010, the family trio co-founded the organization Bring Change to Mind, which aims to eradicate the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness.
Close noted the 'pure courage' it took for Jessie and Calen to go public with her bipolar disorder and his schizoaffective disorder.
Glenn Close's younger sister Jessie Close and nephew Calen T. Pick co-authored a new book about their mental illness struggles, Silence You, which hit shelves Tuesday (pictured in 2010)
Pick - who symptoms began at the tender age of 15 - named their fictionalized literary effort after the time he painted 'Silence You' in dripping red paint in the family garage back in 1998.
'He'd sit on the couch and rock and rock and his pupils were huge,' the 71-year-old speaker-author recalled.
'He'd look out of the windows and say things like, "That person is watching me," but no one was there.'
Jessie added: 'Calen was a golden boy. He was gorgeous and smart and funny. He had a ton of friends — and it just all went to hell in a handbasket.'
The 43-year-old self-taught artist added: 'It was a lot of thinking about fantastical things and questioning reality. It was grandiose. I had a God complex a little bit. I think it was grasping for something bigger than myself.'
Calen was hospitalized in a psychiatric ward in Helena, MT after suffering a psychotic break at age 18, and he went on to live in a halfway house on the hospital grounds for the next two years.
'A lot of sedation and trial and error,' Pick said of finding the right antipsychotic medication.
'It was two steps forward and one step back.'
The 77-year-old acting legend wrote in her endorsement (pictured): 'I read Jessie and Calen's book with my heart in my throat, at times, my eyes burning with tears'
Glenn (born Glenda) continued: 'It is a gripping, heartbreaking, and ultimately, life affirming, step-by-step account of how mental illness can shatter a family, but also how that family, through love and resilience, can not only survive, but triumph' (pictured April 5)
Close told People on Wednesday: 'I knew it was very close to what actually happened. It peeled back another layer of what they all went through'
Back in 2010, the family trio co-founded the organization Bring Change to Mind, which aims to eradicate the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness (benefit pictured October 10)
The eight-time Oscar nominee (R, pictured in 2021) noted the 'pure courage' it took for Jessie and Calen (L) to go public with her bipolar disorder and his schizoaffective disorder
Glenn will next portray gun-toting Ginny in Seth Gordon's spy comedy Back in Action - premiering January 17 on Netflix - alongside Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, and Kyle Chandler
Close has been hard at work on the LA set of Ryan Murphy's eight-episode legal drama All's Fair, which premieres next year on Hulu (pictured October 18)
Calen - now married to a therapeutic horseback riding instructor - hopes their 340-page book will 'clarify what is a pretty tumultuous experience, and help other people.'
Close will next portray gun-toting Ginny in Seth Gordon's spy comedy Back in Action - premiering January 17 on Netflix - alongside Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Kyle Chandler, and Andrew Scott.
The eight-time Oscar nominee has been hard at work on the LA set of Ryan Murphy's eight-episode legal drama All's Fair, which premieres next year on Hulu.
The upcoming show will also feature acting heavyweights Sarah Paulson, Naomi Watts, Niecy Nash, and Ed O'Neill as well as Teyana Taylor, Kim Kardashian, and Matthew Noszka.
Glenn's other upcoming films include a big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical Sunset Boulevard, Charlie McDowell's drama The Summer Book, Rian Johnson's Knives Out three-quel Wake Up Dead Man, and Simon Curtis' acting comedy Encore.
