72 Hour Hold

By: Bebe Moore Campbell

Narrated by: Pamella D'Pella

Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

In this novel of family and redemption, a mother struggles to save her 18-year-old daughter from the devastating consequences of mental illness by forcing her to deal with her bipolar disorder. New York Times best-selling author Bebe Moore Campbell draws on her own powerful emotions and African-American roots, showcasing her best writing yet.

Trina suffers from bipolar disorder, making her paranoid, wild, and violent. Watching her child turn into a bizarre stranger, Keri searches for assistance through normal channels. She quickly learns that a 72 hour hold is the only help you can get when an adult child starts to spiral out of control. After three days, Trina can sign herself out of any program.

Fed up with the bureaucracy of the mental health community and determined to save her daughter by any means necessary, Keri signs on for an illegal intervention. The Program is a group of radicals who eschew the psychiatric system and model themselves after the Underground Railroad. When Keri puts her daughter's fate in their hands, she begins a journey that has her calling on the spirit of Harriet Tubman for courage. In the upheaval that follows, she is forced to confront a past that refuses to stay buried, even as she battles to secure a future for her child.

Bebe Moore Campbell's moving story is for anyone who has ever faced insurmountable obstacles and prayed for a happy ending, only to discover she'd have to reach deep within herself to fight for it.

©2005 Bebe Moore Campbell (P)2005 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Powerful....Moore Campbell is terrific at describing the different emotional gradations produced by each new circle of hell." (Publishers Weekly)

"Campbell is masterful at evoking black Los Angeles and creating strong characters. She bravely confronts a taboo issue in the black community, presenting the anguishing issues of mental illness from the perspective of a resilient and determined mother." (Booklist)

"Bebe Moore Campbell shatters our abstract notions about mental illness...[She] is a writer at the top of her form as a storyteller, culture keeper and astute social critic." (Los Angeles Times)

72 hr hold

I enjoyed this book very much.
It held my interest and was well written.
The readers natural voice was lovely.
However she needs to work on her ethnic accents. Ex: British and Indian ect were awful. They made me laugh at things that weren’t meant to be funny. Over all it was great. I would recommend this book.

Great for your Library

This is an excellent book. I chose this book to kick off My book club (Literary Ladies). We were all pleased. Although the book is categorized as fiction, several ladies in the book club could relate to the very real experiences Trina and Keri endured. I thank Ms. Campbell for inviting us into her world and sharing the trials and tribulations of a very real and serious mental disorder.

I enjoyed it!

I read 72 Hour Hold years ago and really liked the story line. This audiobook was a credit well spent!

amazing, funny, & captivating....

Loved it. I cried, I laughed, I was captivated from beginning to the end. I have a child that is bipolar and could relate. I was moved. I highly recommend this book it will not dissappoint.

Powerful, heartbreaking, yet not without hope

If you could sum up 72 Hour Hold in three words, what would they be?

Hopeful, heartbreaking, enlightening

Have you listened to any of Pamella D'Pella’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is my first exposure to this narrator. She did quite well for most of it, but occasionally had odd pauses and inflection.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Definitely. This book would make a great drama pic!

Any additional comments?

This book was informative even as it broke my heart. The hell that Keri and the many others in her world go through while wrestling with their children not being who they hoped.
I could feel the frustration that Keri dealt with during Trina's spiral into mental illness, culminating in desperate measures to try and get her help. It was like a little piece of hell, but not without hope. I enjoyed Bebe Moore Campbell's gift of language, and her accessible way of writing that reached out not only to people of colour, but to a white Canadian with no experience with mental illness (knock on wood).

It is not a light read by any means, but well worth your time and credit.

Secrects we keep

If you could sum up 72 Hour Hold in three words, what would they be?

This book is very enlightening and the best keep secret in the African American community. There is so much mental illness in our families, communities and generations that we swept under the rug and still today do not know understand why a family member behaves the way they do. This book shed some light on what needs to be done and the hard choices that need to be made..

Excellent listen

My entire family (7-36) listened to this book on a road trip. Be warned, though, that there are some bad words and disturbing tales. However, the book kept the interest of the entire family and sparked conversation about mental illness and its effects on people and families. Another wonderful work by Ms. Campbell and one that gives us a bit more understanding, and hopefully compassion, about the flight of those dealing with mental illness.

a really good story

the narration was not good but the story was. i started listening a few times before i finally got into it. once i really started listening to it i didn't want to stop. i listened at home, work, in the car. any chance i got. i really enjoyed this story

Entertaining

Great book overall. This book really pulled me in. It was realistic. I’m sure I’ll listen to this book multiple times.

Wow mental illness.....who knew?

What was one of the most memorable moments of 72 Hour Hold?

Never knew it was this difficult to get help for someone with mental illness.

Do you think 72 Hour Hold needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes, it would great to know what happen to the characters. If their lives ever got back to normal, how things change now the mother was back in the picture.....