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Have you ever read a book that captures you from page one? One that you do not want to put down? Well I had this experience this week. You must know one thing about me, I am a sucker for biographies, love them! When I had a chance to review He Wanted the Moon: The Madness and Medical Genius of Dr. Perry Baird, and His Daughter's Quest to Know Him, I jumped at it.

The book is written by Mimi Baird. It is the story of her father, Dr. Perry Baird, and his struggle with manic depression in the 1940's. During his struggle he wrote about being admitted to a few institutions, mainly Westbourgh State Hospital in Massachusetts. It is heart breaking to learn of his struggles and the barbaric ways they tried to treat mental illness in the 1940's. The second half of the book is written my Mimi. We learn more about her relationship with her father. How she came to be in possession of all of her father's notes, and learn about how he died.

Having a mother who has suffered with mental illness almost her entire life, this book really spoke to me. It made me wonder about how she was treated and gave me new understanding into the mind of someone with this illness.

The book is rather short, around 250 pages and I finished it off in no time. I can see it being made into a movie someday and hope it is!

I would highly recommend this book if you like biographies or have been touched by mental illness in someway in your family,

I received this book from Blogging for Books. All opinions are 100% mine.