Book Club Discussion Guide
About the Book
72 Hours Hold
by Bebe Moore Campbell
This powerful story of a mother trying to cope with her daughter's bipolar disorder
reads at times like a heightened procedural. Keri, the owner of an upscale L.A.
resale clothing shop, is hopeful as daughter Trina celebrates her 18th birthday
and begins a successful-seeming new treatment. But as Trina relapses into
mania, both their worlds spiral out of control. An ex-husband who refuses to
believe their daughter is really sick, the stigmas of mental illness in the black
community, a byzantine medico-insurance system—all make Keri increasingly
desperate as Trina deteriorates (requiring, repeatedly, a "72 hour hold" in the
hospital against her will). The ins and outs of working the mental health system
take up a lot of space, but Moore Campbell is terrific at describing the different
emotional gradations produced by each new circle of hell. There's a lesbian
subplot, and a radical (and expensive) group that offers treatment off the grid
may hold promise. The author of a well-reviewed children's book on how to cope
with a parent's mental illness, Moore Campbell (What You Owe Me) is on familiar
ground; she gives Keri's actions and decisions compelling depth and detail, and
makes Trina's illness palpable. While this feels at times like a mission-driven
book, it draws on all of Moore Campbell's nuance and style.
About the Author
Bebe Moore Campbell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to George and
Doris Moore. Campbell started sending her father serial short stories when he
moved to North Carolina. She later credited these short stories as the beginning
of her career as a writer. After college Campbell taught elementary school in
Atlanta, Georgia, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC. Campbell also
worked at Howard University in Washington, DC as a publicist.
In 1976, Essence Magazine bought one of Campbell's short stories. Thinking that
she was on her way to becoming a novelist, Campbell submitted several more
stories to Essence to no avail. One day, the editor of Essence was at Howard
University for a conference and Campbell seized an opportunity to talk to her in
the ladies bathroom. Campbell was told that if she wrote non-fiction instead of
fiction, there was a good chance the magazine would print more of her work.
Campbell followed that advice and became a frequent contributor to Essence.
As a result of her start at Essence, Campbell became a prolific fiction and nonfiction writer. Her first non-fiction book was "Successful Women, Angry Men:
Backlash in the Two-Career Marriage" and her first novel was "Your Blues Ain't
Like Mine," a story based on Emmitt Till's 1955 murder. In addition to writing,
Campbell was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio and an advocate
for the mentally ill.
In February of 2006, Campbell was diagnosed with brain cancer, an illness to
which she ultimately succumbed at the age of 56. Campbell died in Los Angeles,
California, and is survived by her mother, Doris, husband, Ellis Gordon Jr.,
daughter, Maia Campbell, son, Ellis Gordon III, and two grandchildren.
Discussion Questions
1. The novel is narrated from Keri’s point of view. How does she present herself as a character in
the opening chapter? What are the traits that have made her a successful businesswoman? How
does her character contrast with that of her teenage daughter?
2. Dr. Ustinov tells Keri, “your daughter is bipolar” [p. 25]. Consider the terms in which Dr. Ustinov
presents Trina’s illness to Keri [p. 29]; his approach is purely factual, while hers is psychological
and filled with guilt. Does Keri begin to lose her guilt about Trina’s illness as the novel proceeds,
or does she continue to feel that in some sense, it’s “always Mommy’s fault” [p. 30]?
3. Friendships between women are important in this novel. What kinds of support and strength do
women offer each other? Discuss examples of the loyalty and love shared between female
characters in the story.
4. How does Keri’s history with her mother’s alcoholism affect her approach to Trina’s illness? In
what ways is Keri’s refusal to forgive her mother understandable, and in what ways does she
refuse to realize that her mother might also be considered to have a brain disease? How does
Keri eventually make the choice to let her mother back into her life?
5. In what ways does 72 Hour Hold help readers question the phenomenon that having a perfect
child (high-achieving, popular, talented, beautiful, etc.) contributes greatly to a parent’s self
esteem and social status? Does Keri eventually let go of these ideas? If so, how?
6. What is the effect of Campbell’s frequent use of the metaphor of slavery—its images, its
terrors, its punishing psychology—throughout the novel? See, for instance, page 3 (“the hounds
are tracking you”) and page 28 (“I embarked on my own Middle Passage that night, marching
backward, ankles shackled”). If Keri’s experience with her daughter’s mental illness is like the
experience of slavery, does the novel yield any sense of liberation from this condition? How does
Keri’s relationship with Orlando differ from her relationship with Clyde? At a moment of extreme
crisis in the story, it seems as though Keri will get back together with Clyde. Why does she
ultimately choose Orlando instead?
7. How does Keri’s relationship with Orlando differ from her relationship with Clyde? At a moment
of extreme crisis in the story, it seems as though Keri will get back together with Clyde. Why does
she ultimately choose Orlando instead?
8. Just as Keri has to accept her daughter’s illness, Orlando has to accept P.J.’s homosexuality.
Why is this so devastating for Orlando? Does the description of the household Keri and Orlando
share at the end of the novel suggest that both Keri and Orlando are at peace with their children?
9. What is the significance of Keri’s skill as a masseuse in her approach to healing both herself
and Trina? Why is this mode of touching so important to the bond between the two of them?
10. The relationship between Keri and Orlando presents an example of the difficulties self-made
women encounter when they find themselves with less-successful men. (Campbell has also
written a nonfiction book on this topic.) Why is Keri impatient with Orlando’s lack of success, and
how does she come to terms with it?
11. The segment of the novel that describes the intervention, which involves a road trip and a
good deal of suspense, adds an element of adventure to this story of family tragedy. What is the
effect of these chapters, and how does Campbell make them such compelling reading?
12. Karl, the intervention leader, is the child of a mother who was mentally ill. What do his and
Keri’s family histories tell us about the kinds of damage done by untreated mental illness? In what
ways can Karl and Keri be seen as overcompensating for—or still reacting to—their painful
childhood experiences?
13. In a significant conversation between Keri and Trina on pages 298–299, Trina acknowledges
the pain of having to give up the college life she was on the verge of, even as she also
acknowledges the danger of suicidal feelings. Does the end of the novel suggest a hopeful
outcome for Trina?
14. What is the significance of the green pantsuit with the small stain, which Keri finally wears at
Trina’s performance [p. 318]? How is it related to the novel’s epigraph from a Leonard Cohen
song: “Ring the bells that still can ring. / Forget your perfect offering. / There is a crack in
everything. / That’s how the light gets in.”?
15. How does this novel open up the inside world of families dealing with severe mental illness?
What did you find surprising about the story? How do other books on the subject of mental illness
that members of your group may have read compare to 72 Hour Hold?