At the end of the session, Conrad decides he likes Dr. He asks Conrad what he wants to accomplish, and Conrad says he wants to be more in control of his life.

Berger is slightly eccentric and friendlier than the doctors he saw in the hospital. Conrad doubts the doctor can help him, but Dr. Cal notices that Conrad still doesn’t seem like himself and tells him to see the doctor who was recommended to him. Conrad finds solace in choir he can sing without letting his personal life seep through. His swimming times have slowed, prompting rude remarks from the swim coach, Salan. On their way to school, Conrad notices a new girl at school, Jeanine Pratt.Ĭonrad feels like he is failing to return to normal. Some of the boys in the car are Lazenby, Conrad’s best friend, and Stillman, an arrogant jerk. One day, he starts to carpool with boys from school, which Cal finds promising. Conrad has been antisocial since coming home, which worries Cal. Because of his time in the hospital, he must repeat his junior year. Each family member is searching for their identity in the changed family dynamic and the world at large.Ĭonrad tries to get back to his routine, starting with returning to school. He worries that something else will happen to Conrad. He craves communication with his loved ones, and his grief is more external. Cal won’t take sides with either of them, hurting them both in the process. When life gets overwhelming, she flees, often to Europe. She prioritizes order and cleanliness-a perfect home for a perfect family. Beth is similarly private about her emotional life, but she channels her grief into perfectionism and travel. The novel begins a month after his return home and focuses on the family’s various ways of grieving as they attempt to return to a normal life.Ĭonrad represses all emotion, and this results in bursts of fury that escape when he can no longer hold in his feelings. His parents, Cal and Beth, admitted Conrad to a mental health hospital, where he stayed for eight months. Not long after the American Jarrett family lost their eldest son, Buck, to a sailing accident, the younger son, Conrad, attempted suicide.

There are also references to controversial mental health treatments such as electroshock therapy. This study guide refers to the 1982 Penguin Books edition.Ĭontent Warning: This book depicts suicide and self-harm and features characters grieving the death of a family member.

Ordinary People by Judith Guest