An Unquiet Mind

by

Kay Redfield Jamison

Kay’s Sister Character Analysis

Kay’s older sister is beautiful and tempestuous. She and Kay have always had a difficult relationship marred by jealousy, misunderstanding, and judgment. Kay’s sister’s cruel, callous statements about Kay’s decision to take lithium (a mood stabilizer) directly contributed to Kay’s struggle with staying on the medication that she needed to function.

Kay’s Sister Quotes in An Unquiet Mind

The An Unquiet Mind quotes below are all either spoken by Kay’s Sister or refer to Kay’s Sister. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Madness Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

I genuinely believed […] I ought to be able to handle whatever difficulties came my way without having to rely upon crutches such as medication.

I was not the only one who felt this way. When I became ill, my sister was adamant that I should not take lithium... […] She made it clear that she thought I should “weather it through” my depressions and manias, and that my soul would wither if I chose to dampen the intensity and pain of my experiences by using medication. […] One evening, now many years ago, she tore into me for […] “lithiumizing away my feelings.”

Related Characters: Kay Redfield Jamison (speaker), Kay’s Sister (speaker)
Page Number: 99
Explanation and Analysis:
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An Unquiet Mind PDF

Kay’s Sister Quotes in An Unquiet Mind

The An Unquiet Mind quotes below are all either spoken by Kay’s Sister or refer to Kay’s Sister. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Madness Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

I genuinely believed […] I ought to be able to handle whatever difficulties came my way without having to rely upon crutches such as medication.

I was not the only one who felt this way. When I became ill, my sister was adamant that I should not take lithium... […] She made it clear that she thought I should “weather it through” my depressions and manias, and that my soul would wither if I chose to dampen the intensity and pain of my experiences by using medication. […] One evening, now many years ago, she tore into me for […] “lithiumizing away my feelings.”

Related Characters: Kay Redfield Jamison (speaker), Kay’s Sister (speaker)
Page Number: 99
Explanation and Analysis: