There are a few things you may not know about Mariel Hemingway, but she’s happy to share them.
She once suffered from depression. She lost her sister to suicide.
The Academy Award-nominated actress, best known for appearances in Woody Allen’s “Manhattan†and “Star 80,†wants to share her story so others who’ve faced similar challenges may feel empowered to share theirs.
She told her life story in a book, “Out Came the Sun: Overcoming the Legacy of Mental Illness, Addiction and Suicide in My Family,†published in April. In it, she recounts stories of what it was like growing up as the youngest of a troubled family.
“It’s really a deeper journey into an understanding of what it’s like living in a family that you love but that’s also addicted,†she said in an interview Thursday in Lincoln. “It’s kind of my invitation for everybody to tell their story.â€
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Hemingway, whose life has most recently focused on writing, speaking and advocacy, spoke Thursday night at CenterPointe’s “Discovering the Future Gala.â€
She said she lived most of her adult life trying to escape the problems that plagued her family, becoming obsessive about food, exercise and schedule as a way to assert some kind of control over her life.
In 2008, she ended an unhappy marriage and began to focus on finding balance in her life. Today, she devotes her time to spreading mental health awareness and speaks around the world about the process it took to understand her family and the techniques she uses to keep herself mentally fit.
She said she realized several years ago that sharing her story could help others.
“When you’re a celebrity, you have an opportunity to touch people because we’re a society obsessed with people who are well known,†she said. “It enables people to hear things.â€
Hemingway, 53, grew up in a family long considered cursed by suicide and mental illness. Her grandfather, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway, committed suicide in 1961 and her sister died of an opiate overdose that was ruled a suicide.
She said she was often afraid growing up and struggled for many years to find balance in her life. At first, she looked toward fitness and healthy eating, she said.
Later, she focused more on mental health therapy to help her find peace. However, Hemingway said, everybody’s path to recovery is different and it’s important for people to find methods that work for them.
“There’s no magic pill. There’s no magic anything,†she said. “It’s the journey that you take to look at yourself.â€
She offered advice to those who, like her, have loved ones suffering from mental illness and addiction. First of all, she said, it’s important to forgive oneself.
Mental illness is a disease like cancer or diabetes, she said.
“You’re not a bad person,†she said. “You didn’t do anything wrong.â€
Next, it’s important to talk to those who are suffering to understand what is troubling them and to understand what methods might be most effective in helping them.
She said she’s considering writing a book about ways to help people suffering from mental illness and addiction.
“We’re at the tipping point of making this a very talked about issue as opposed to it being hidden in the issues,†she said. “It’s still got a lot of stigma. It’s still very difficult for people to address.â€
But it’s important to talk about mental illness, to pull it from the darkness and strip it of its power, she said. In doing so, most people will find help is there, she said.
“You’d be surprised at how compassionate people can be, and if they’re not you don’t need to be there anyway,†she said.