The sessions come at an awkward time for the Jarretts, who find it difficult to navigate their family situation.

The psychiatrist's appearance, attitude, and approach all unsettle Conrad, but they agree to meet twice a week. Most significantly, his relationship with Beth is strained they hardly speak to one another, as Beth avoids him as much as possible.Ĭonrad visits Berger for the first time. He realizes that swimming no longer gives him the joy he once experienced. In choir practice he meets a new student named Jeannine Pratt, whom he finds to be stunningly beautiful. Spending time with his friends and swimming teammates Lazenby, Stillman, Truan, Genthe, and Van Buren wears on him constantly. Tyrone Berger, yet he finds it difficult to get through each day. Cal has arranged for Conrad to start seeing a therapist named Dr. The novel begins one month after Conrad is released from the hospital. Thankfully Cal and Beth find him in the bathroom before he dies they eventually commit him to a mental hospital, where he stays for eight months. Conrad feels personally responsible for his brother's death, and after a gradual spiral into depression he tries to commit suicide by slashing his wrists. Tragedy strikes the family one summer when the oldest, Buck, dies in a sailing accident. Calvin (Cal) Jarrett, a tax attorney, and his wife Beth Jarrett have two sons, Jordan (better known as Buck) and Conrad. Calvin is trapped between the two trying to hold the family together.See photos for additional content.The Jarretts are a well-to-do family who live near Chicago.

Beth had always preferred his brother and is having difficulty being supportive to Conrad. Conrad is overcome by grief and misplaced guilt to the extent of a suicide attempt. ORDINARY PEOPLE - Beth, Calvin, and their son Conrad are living in the aftermath of the death of the other son. From this simple scenario Patrick White unfurls a monumental exploration of the tides of love and hate, comedy and tragedy, impotence and longing that fester within family relationships. THE EYE OF THE STORM - Elizabeth Hunter, an ex-socialite in her eighties, has a mystical experience during a summer storm in Sydney which transforms all her relationships: her existence becomes charged with a meaning which communicates itself to those around her. A bit scuffed but all pages intact and legible. Please see any and all photos connected with this listing.

Ordinary People by Judith Guest