Overview

The story of a young man fighting to recover from a devastating psychotic break and the mother who refuses to give up on him Zack McDermott, a twenty-six-year-old Brooklyn public defender, woke up one morning convinced he was being filmed, Truman Show-style, as part of an audition for a TV pilot. This was it-his big dreams were finally coming true. Every passerby was an actor; every car would magically stop for him; everything he saw was a cue from The Producer to help inspire the performance of a lifetime. After a manic spree around Manhattan, Zack, who is bipolar, was arrested on a subway platform and admitted to Bellevue Hospital. So begins the story of Zack's freefall into psychosis and his desperate, poignant, often darkly funny struggle to claw his way back to sanity, regain his identity, and rebuild some semblance of a stable life. It's a journey that will take him from New York City back to his Kansas roots and to the one person who might be able to save him, his tough, big-hearted Midwestern mother, nicknamed the Bird, whose fierce and steadfast love is the light in Zack's dark world. Before his odyssey is over, Zack will be tackled by guards in mental wards, run naked through cornfields, receive secret messages from the TV, befriend a former Navy SEAL and his talking stuffed monkey, and see the Virgin Mary in the whorls of his own back hair. But with the Bird's help, he just might have a shot at pulling through, starting over, and maybe even meeting a woman who can love him back, bipolar and all. Written with raw emotional power, humor, and tenderness, Gorilla and the Bird is a bravely honest account of a young man's unraveling and the relationship that saves him.

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9781478991359

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Reviews

McDermott...takes us into his experience with riveting intensity. -- George Hodgman, New York Times bestselling author A tragicomic gem about family, class, race, justice. -- New York Times Book Review A funny, finely observed, and surprisingly touching depiction...A gripping portrait of a very real human battle too often ignored. -- Sarah Hepola, New York Times bestselling author [This] remarkably written (and lived) memoir...holds us rapt. -- Huffington Post The descriptions of mania are gripping, all-consuming, and so intimate you feel like the pages have absorbed you completely. McDermott is extremely candid. -- BuzzFeed [McDermott's] book asks us to destigmatize mental illness by familiarizing us intimately with the issue. -- Los Angeles Review of Books His work as a public defender grows out of a deep sense of empathy for the stigmatized and marginalized that's evident on every page. -- NPR You've got to like a book that opens with a Granny who prays the rosary, digs the Stones, and calls the police 'pigs'...McDermott's memoir is decidedly offbeat, unfolding like a country song...[with] a keenly felt sense of justice for the people who can't catch a break in this world. -- Kirkus Reviews A startlingly moving memoir of mother and son, structural injustice and inflammable mental illness. Gorilla and the Bird is as piss-cuttin' a pieta as anyone has any right to hope for. And Zack McDermott-guy's a fleet, funny, unsentimental storyteller who manages that rare thing: He allows a damaged soul be found. -- Kent Russell, author of I Am Sorry to Think I Have Raised a Timid Son A captivating and witty memoir...not only a deeply powerful reminder of our own vulnerability but a truly inspirational testament to the strength of the human spirit. This book makes accessible experiences that some may wish to ignore but that urgently require our attention, acceptance, and empathy. -- Elizabeth Ford, MD, author of Sometimes Amazing Things Happen Gorilla and the Bird will make you laugh, cry, and wonder what would happen if we were all brave enough to tell the stories of our relationships with love and madness. -- Kiese Laymon, author of How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America

Gorilla and the Bird will make you laugh, cry, and wonder what would happen if we were all brave enough to tell the stories of our relationships with love and madness. -- Kiese Laymon, author of How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America A captivating and witty memoir...not only a deeply powerful reminder of our own vulnerability but a truly inspirational testament to the strength of the human spirit. This book makes accessible experiences that some may wish to ignore but that urgently require our attention, acceptance, and empathy. -- Elizabeth Ford, MD, author of Sometimes Amazing Things Happen A startlingly moving memoir of mother and son, structural injustice and inflammable mental illness. Gorilla and the Bird is as piss-cuttin' a pieta as anyone has any right to hope for. And Zack McDermott-guy's a fleet, funny, unsentimental storyteller who manages that rare thing: He allows a damaged soul be found. -- Kent Russell, author of I Am Sorry to Think I Have Raised a Timid Son You've got to like a book that opens with a Granny who prays the rosary, digs the Stones, and calls the police 'pigs'...McDermott's memoir is decidedly offbeat, unfolding like a country song...[with] a keenly felt sense of justice for the people who can't catch a break in this world. -- Kirkus Reviews His work as a public defender grows out of a deep sense of empathy for the stigmatized and marginalized that's evident on every page. -- NPR [McDermott's] book asks us to destigmatize mental illness by familiarizing us intimately with the issue. -- Los Angeles Review of Books The descriptions of mania are gripping, all-consuming, and so intimate you feel like the pages have absorbed you completely. McDermott is extremely candid. -- BuzzFeed [This] remarkably written (and lived) memoir...holds us rapt. -- Huffington Post A tragicomic gem about family, class, race, justice. -- New York Times Book Review McDermott...takes us into his experience with riveting intensity. -- George Hodgman, New York Times bestselling author A funny, finely observed, and surprisingly touching depiction...A gripping portrait of a very real human battle too often ignored. -- Sarah Hepola, New York Times bestselling author

Gorilla and the Bird will make you laugh, cry, and wonder what would happen if we were all brave enough to tell the stories of our relationships with love and madness. -- Kiese Laymon, author of How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America A captivating and witty memoir...not only a deeply powerful reminder of our own vulnerability but a truly inspirational testament to the strength of the human spirit. This book makes accessible experiences that some may wish to ignore but that urgently require our attention, acceptance, and empathy. -- Elizabeth Ford, MD, author of Sometimes Amazing Things Happen A startlingly moving memoir of mother and son, structural injustice and inflammable mental illness. Gorilla and the Bird is as piss-cuttin' a pieta as anyone has any right to hope for. And Zack McDermott-guy's a fleet, funny, unsentimental storyteller who manages that rare thing: He allows a damaged soul be found. -- Kent Russell, author of I Am Sorry to Think I Have Raised a Timid Son You've got to like a book that opens with a Granny who prays the rosary, digs the Stones, and calls the police 'pigs'...McDermott's memoir is decidedly offbeat, unfolding like a country song...[with] a keenly felt sense of justice for the people who can't catch a break in this world. -- Kirkus Reviews His work as a public defender grows out of a deep sense of empathy for the stigmatized and marginalized that's evident on every page. -- NPR [McDermott's] book asks us to destigmatize mental illness by familiarizing us intimately with the issue. -- Los Angeles Review of Books The descriptions of mania are gripping, all-consuming, and so intimate you feel like the pages have absorbed you completely. McDermott is extremely candid. -- BuzzFeed [This] remarkably written (and lived) memoir...holds us rapt. -- Huffington Post A funny, finely observed, and surprisingly touching depiction...A gripping portrait of a very real human battle too often ignored. -- Sarah Hepola, New York Times bestselling author A tragicomic gem about family, class, race, justice. -- New York Times Book Review McDermott...takes us into his experience with riveting intensity. -- George Hodgman, New York Times bestselling author

Author Information

Zack McDermott has worked as a public defender for the Legal Aid Society of New York. His work has appeared on This American Life, Morning Edition, and Gawker, among other places. He lives in Brooklyn.

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