Coping In A Family Plagued by Mental Illness with Rachel Steinman

SheSez with Linda Grasso

Rachel Steinman grew up in a family riddled with mental illness. She remembers as a girl always being embarrassed and somewhat exasperated trying to explain it to others.

When she was 16 her grandfather leapt to his death at his high-rise condo—and she never fully understood why. It haunted her and she wanted to get inside his mind.

She did years later when she’d become a mom of two daughters, and was worried that somehow they’d inherit the illness. After her step-grandmother’s death, she found a manuscript her grandfather had written about his life.

In this SheSez episode, Rachel shares her story of how that manuscript kicked off a journey of discovery about her grandfather, the illness that plagued her family and the fine line between brilliance and madness.