2006 "First Carroll & Graf edition 2006" stated; "One family's battle with a child's depression"; softbound in pictoral front board; SIGNED BY U.S. SENATOR GORDON H. SMITH on half-title page to "Marvin" - see pic; very good condition with unmarked pages.
 
Description -
United States Senator Gordon H. Smith tells the heartbreaking but inspiring story of his son's embattled life, his death by suicide at age twenty-two, and how the Smiths finally carried on — fighting the growing problem of youth suicide with the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act.
 
Gordon Harold Smith (May 25, 1952) was a two term Republic Senator from Oregon ('97 - '09), business leader in the agricultural community and a stalwart representative of the LDS church. His mother was part of the Udall family, hence he had several cousins who were also Senators (Mo, Stewart, Mark and Tom). A Boy Scout by nature, Smith was a cross aisle politician. This worked to his benefit when almost $100M was appropriated to help college students address the issues of depression and suicide, the bill named for his son Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Bill. Smith and his wife adopted three children, of which Garrett was one. "I realize now, and too late, that Garrett's mental health, the hard wiring within his brain, made my diagnosis meaningless. To say to someone with manic depression or bipolar disorder, "Come on, buck up. Get to work!" is the equivalent of demanding a diabetic to make insulin. If you've never been swallowed by that infinite bleakness and hopelessness that accompanies manic depression, its almost impossible to imagine.