Race, mental health, and gender in 72-Hour Hold: An Intersectional Analysis

Bebe Moore Campbells 72-Hour Hold is a novel about a mother struggling with helping her daughter who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder as well as their journey of seeking treatment within and eventually without the established medical system. Campbell shows the love and passionate dedication that the main character, Keri, has for her daughter Trina. As Black women, Trina and Keri experience and perceive their journey to healing a bit differently than, say, secondary characters, Bethany and Angelica (both white). Specifically, Trinas identity as an African American women suffering with bipolar disorder causes her to experience life at the intersection of race, gender, and mental health status. Trinas experience is, in many ways, intricately related to her mother, Keris, experience living with a daughter with bipolar disorder. Using an intersectional approach, this review explores the way that these interlocking systems of oppression (Collins, 2000) come together to color Trina, and consequently Keris experiences (Crenshaw, 1991; Collins, 2000). Although research has shown that African American families tend to resist seeking professional care for mental health issues (Williams & Williams-Morris, 2000), Campbell presents an alternative narrative while staying true to the concerns and experiences of many African Americans suffering with mental illness. Keri and Trinas location at this intersection shapes the way that they perceive their experiences while dealing with Trinas illness. This is illuminated by the Campbells numerous references comparing living with a mental disorder to slavery as well as her continued critique of controlling images of black women (particularly the strong black woman image). Campbell uses slavery-related imagery as a point of reference at several points throughout the novel. In one riveting moment, Keri, describes feeling as though she were on her own version of the Middle Passage while having her own child taken from her arms. One can assume that Keri feels her daughter, who is perfect in her eyes, is being taken by her bipolar disorder. Although Keri thinks that she and Trina are on the road to recovery with Bethany and Brads mysterious Program, it is when Trina goes missing that Keri realizes while she thought she was on (a contemporary version of the) Underground Railroad, she had yet to leave the plantation. Although Bethany and her daughter Angelica are taking this journey with Keri and Trina, it is these points of reference that Bethany, a white woman, would never be able to identify with in the same manner as Keri; Bethany is white and therefore slavery is not part of her social/historical memory in the same way that it is in Keris. The myth of the strong black woman comes from the reality of the fact that black women, historically, have had to do it all from being sexually and physically exploited during enslavement to being belittled as domestic workers in the mid-20th century (Collins, 2004). In an early chapter of the novel, Keri reflects on an incident when she was forced to call the authorities to take Trina after she had a violent, manic episode. After telling the officer the situation, he sympathetically tells a doubtful Keri that she can endure these episodes with Trina because she is a strong woman. Keri thinks to herself ..strong enough to plant a crop, pick cotton, birth a baby in the field, and keep on working (p. 32). It is clear throughout the novel that Keri often battles with her need to be the strong black woman (and thus a great mother who can heal her daughter of her mental illness, protect her ) while simultaneously attempting to care for herself (with her interest in fashion and fitness). In conclusion, 72-Hour Hold is a powerful novel and a worthwhile read for scholars and pleasure-readers alike. Campbells presentation of Keri and Trinas journey lends well to an intersectional analysis whether or not that was her intention. Campbell does a wonderful job pulling readers into Keri and Trinas often chaotic, scary, and hellacious world and taking them on the unpredictable, emotional roller-coaster that is caring for a family member with a mental

illness. Additionally, Campbell phenomenally presents the story from the very specific intersection of race, gender, and mental status. Collins, P. H. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness and politics of empowerment. Psychology Press. Collins, P. H. (2004). Black sexual politics: African Americans, gender, and the new racism. Routledge. Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford law review, 1241-1299. Jarmon, M. (2011). Coming Up from Underground: Uneasy Dialogues at the Intersections of Race, Mental Illness, and Disability Studies. In Blackness and Disability: Critical Examinations and Cultural Interventions. Ed. Christopher M. Bell. Germany: LIT Verlag. Williams, D., & Williams-Morris, R. (2000). Racism and mental health: the African American experience. Ethnicity and Health, 5(3-4), 243-268.