Kay Redfield Jamison describes her father as a charming, ebullient, and magnetic man whose gregariousness was overwhelming, whose passion for life was unrivaled, and whose mercurial shifts in mood were often violent. An Air Force pilot and meteorologist, Kay’s father followed his work around the globe, and eventually he settled in California—where, in spite of an exciting new professional opportunity, a series of “black” depressions and a descent into alcoholism took over his life and cost him his job. Kay suggests that she inherited her manic-depressive illness from her father, and that he gave her the “unbroken horse” of mental illness to wrestle with.
Kay’s Father Quotes in An Unquiet Mind
The An Unquiet Mind quotes below are all either spoken by Kay’s Father or refer to Kay’s Father. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 5
Quotes
The complexities of what we are given in life are vast and beyond comprehension. It was as if my father had given me, by way of temperament, an impossibly wild, dark, and unbroken horse. It was a horse without a name, and a horse with no experience of a bit between its teeth.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Kay’s Father Quotes in An Unquiet Mind
The An Unquiet Mind quotes below are all either spoken by Kay’s Father or refer to Kay’s Father. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 5
Quotes
The complexities of what we are given in life are vast and beyond comprehension. It was as if my father had given me, by way of temperament, an impossibly wild, dark, and unbroken horse. It was a horse without a name, and a horse with no experience of a bit between its teeth.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
