The Sunday Read: ‘The Vanishing Family: Life in the Shadow of a Cruel Genetic Mutation’
The Daily6 Aug 2023

The Sunday Read: ‘The Vanishing Family: Life in the Shadow of a Cruel Genetic Mutation’

When Barb’s father all but left, her mother turned inward, sitting quietly in front of the television, always smoking, often with a cocktail. Something had overtaken her, though it wasn’t clear what.

Six years later, Barb was 20 and in college when someone else in the family needed help. Her sister Christy was the second-born, 24 years older than Barb and the star of the family in many ways. But where once Christy was capable and professionally ambitious and socially conscious, now, at 44, she was alone, her clothes unkempt and ripped, her hair unwashed, her marriage over.

Depression was the first suspected diagnosis, then schizophrenia, though neither seemed quite right. Christy wasn’t sad or delusional; she wasn’t even upset. It was more as if she were reverting to a childlike state, losing her knack for self-regulation. Her personality was diluting — on its way out, with seemingly nothing to replace it.

What was left of Christy was chaotic and unpredictable. She refused to bathe and stopped bothering to make meals. She crashed a neighbor’s party and made odd conversation with strangers. She clogged a toilet with tampons and flooded the house. She was gleefully impulsive, spending thousands of dollars a year on magazine subscriptions. That strange, reckless profligacy made Barb think of their mother, who in her final years sat at home, saying yes to every sales phone call. How heartbreaking but also interesting, Barb thought, that Christy shared the same peculiar tendencies — a family trait of sorts.

This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Episoder(2691)

Monday, Feb. 27, 2017

Monday, Feb. 27, 2017

What happened when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents showed up in a small town that voted overwhelmingly for President Trump, transforming his campaign rhetoric into reality. Guests: Monica Davey, the Chicago bureau chief for The New York Times; Tim Grigsby, a print shop owner in West Frankfort, Ill.; Nicholas Kulish, an investigative reporter for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit http://nyti.ms/2lr2eI6. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

27 Feb 201722min

Friday, Feb. 24, 2017

Friday, Feb. 24, 2017

President Trump’s top deputies delivered a blunt message to the party faithful on Thursday: the Republicans are winning the fight — and it is a fight. Plus a conversation with the director of “Moonlight.” Guests: Jonathan Martin, who has covered the inside story of both political parties for years; Nikole Hannah-Jones, a staff writer for the New York Times Magazine. For more information on today’s episode, visit http://nyti.ms/2lLN9U9. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

24 Feb 201720min

Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017

Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017

Rukmini Callimachi takes us into Iraq to see if a major victory over the Islamic State is really at hand in the streets of Mosul. Guests: Ms. Callimachi, a New York Times correspondent covering terrorism; Nathaniel Popper, a Times reporter covering finance and technology. For more information on today’s episode, visit http://nyti.ms/2lvdohI. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

23 Feb 201720min

Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017

Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017

Are 11 million people suddenly facing deportation? What we know and don’t know about the Trump administration’s new plan for undocumented immigrants. Guests: Michael D. Shear, a White House reporter at The New York Times, and Caitlin Dickerson, a national reporter who writes about immigration; Sheriff Mark Napier of Pima County, Ariz. For more information on today’s episode, visit http://nyti.ms/2lc3H5e. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

22 Feb 201720min

Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017

Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017

Who are the 500 private citizens with unprecedented access to President Trump on the weekends? And what is the “deep state”? Guests: Scott Shane, who has covered national security and the U.S. intelligence community for The Times for decades, and Nicholas Confessore and Maggie Haberman, who unmasked the secret list of Mar-a-Lago members. For more information on today’s episode, visit http://nyti.ms/2lEWRbt. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

21 Feb 201720min

Friday, Feb. 17, 2017

Friday, Feb. 17, 2017

President Trump’s sprawling surprise news conference and the view from Russia. Guests: Jim Rutenberg, the media columnist for The New York Times; Neil MacFarquhar, The Times’s Moscow bureau chief. For more information on today’s episode, visit http://nyti.ms/2m6gM0O. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

17 Feb 201718min

Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017

Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017

President Trump says peace in the Middle East does not require a two-state deal. What we know and what we don’t about the Trump campaign’s communication with Russia. And why did Republicans turn on Andrew Puzder? Guests: Mark Mazzetti; Alan Rappeport. For more information on today’s episode, visit http://nyti.ms/2m1BDRS. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

16 Feb 201717min

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017

From fateful call to resignation, the 47-day fall of President Trump’s national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn. We tell the whole story. Guest: Matthew Rosenberg, a national security reporter for The New York Times who has known Mr. Flynn for years. For more information on today’s episode, visit http://nyti.ms/2l7w8ls. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

15 Feb 201717min

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