If, like me, you don’t care for football or don’t know much about it, don’t let the helmet on the cover of The Silver Linings Playbook
There’s a wonderful portrait of a mother, his mother, who never gave up hope while he was in the psychiatric hospital, who fought to get him released, and who helps him pick clothes, find friends, and lead as normal a life as possible. The other character I really enjoyed is his psychiatrist, a devoted Philadelphia Eagles friends, like the hero, who makes a careful distinction between therapy moments and joint fanhood when beer (supposedly forbidden in conjunction with his meds) and team cheers (very silly) flow freely. And of course there’s his father, who seems to be much less fit for society than the hero, with the crucial exception that he never hit anyone in anger.
I will think about Pat wearing a garbage bag during his runs (to lose weight – I guess no one told him it’s just water!) for a long time.
