Blue Genes: A Memoir of Loss and Survival

Written with heartrending honesty, a memoir that captures the devastation of this family legacy of depression and details the strength and hope that can provide a way of escaping its grasp.

“A compassionate but clear-eyed view of his family history.” —Washington Post

Christopher (Kit) Lukas’s mother committed suicide when he was a boy. He and his brother, Tony, were not told how she died. No one spoke of the family’s history of depression and bipolar disorder. The brothers grew up to achieve remarkable success; Tony as a gifted journalist (and author of the classic book, Common Ground), Kit as an accomplished television producer and director. After suffering bouts of depression, Kit was able to confront his family’s troubled past, but Tony never seemed to find the contentment Kit had attained—he killed himself in 1997.