Chapter 3, Why Me? Summary and Analysis

Patty Duke was aware that her illness was a chemical imbalance in her brain, therefore a disorder beyond her control. However, Patty also believed that certain aspects of her difficult childhood most likely added to the situation that caused her disease to present itself as it did. Patty Duke's father, John Patrick Duke, was an alcoholic who left his family when Patty was only a small child. Patty rarely saw her father throughout her childhood, though she was familiar with his family. John Patrick died when Patty was just seventeen, before she had a chance to confront him about his abandonment of his family. Patty has since made peace with this situation as part of her psychotherapy.

Patty's mother, Frances Duke, was prone to depressions that Patty felt were the result of guilt she suffered when her...