Princeton Reads "The Silver Linings Playbook" by Matthew Quick

Matthew Quick, author of “The Silver Linings Playbook,” appears at the culminating event of Princeton Reads at the recently renovated John Witherspoon Middle School Auditorium on Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.

About Matthew Quick

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atthew Quick, who prefers to go simply by Q, was born in Philadelphia and was raised in Oaklyn, N.J. He is a graduate of Collingswood High School and La Salle University and taught literature and film at Haddonfield Memorial High School for several years, during which he coached soccer and basketball, chaperoned trips to Peru and Ecuador, initiated a pen-pal exchange with students in Namibia, and counseled troubled teens. In 2004, he made the difficult decision to leave teaching and pursue his dream of becoming a fiction writer. He received his master’s degree in creative writing from Goddard College in 2007. He now lives in Massachusetts with his wife, novelistpianist Alicia Bessette. He is the author of The New York Times bestseller “The Silver Linings Playbook,” which was made into an Oscar-winning film, and three Young Adult novels, “Sorta Like A Rock Star,” “Boy21,” and the recent release, “Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock.” His work has been translated into 28 languages, received a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention, was an LA Times Book Prize finalist, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, a No. 1 bestseller in Brazil, and selected by Nancy Pearl as one of Summer’s Best Books for NPR. His next novel for adults, “The Good Luck Of Right Now,” will be released in February, 2014. All of Q’s books have been optioned for film.

About “The Silver Linings Playbook”

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he sixth book to be selected for the community-wide Princeton Reads, “The Silver Linings Playbook” is a novel about denial, acceptance, sorrow and hope. Exploring classic literature, mental illness, the importance of family and community and “silver linings,” the novel follows Pat Peoples, a former high school history teacher, upon his release from a mental health facility. As Pat attempts to win back his estranged wife by adopting both a rigorous workout regimen and a personal philosophy of being “kind instead of right,” he finds, instead, that his life is transformed through a series of encounters with family members and friends, old and new. Pat takes readers on a dizzying journey from the raucous stands of Philadelphia Eagles home games to the floor of an unusual ballroom dance competition, with a side trip through the staples of the high school English curriculum. The result is what librarian and book reviewer Nancy Pearl calls “heartwarming, humorous and soul-satisfying.”

Q&A w/Q: The Matthew Quick interview

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atthew Quick’s journey from high school teacher to unknown writer toiling in his in-laws’ basement to author whose first novel was turned into an Academy Award-winning film has something of a fairy tale quality to it. This stands in contrast to the first-person narrators of “The Silver Linings Playbook” (the sixth Princeton Reads selection) and his new Young Adult novel, “Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock,” both of whom struggle mightily with life in search of a happy ending.

In this Q&A, Connections Editor Timothy Quinn asks Quick about mental health, high school English and their shared appreciation for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Q: One of the reasons the library was attracted to “The Silver Linings Playbook” for Princeton Reads was because it provides our community a forum to discuss mental health issues. Why do you think people are so uncomfortable talking about disorders of the brain as opposed to, say, cancer or heart disease?

A: It all comes down to a lack of education.

People fear the unknown. And when you don’t have the vocabulary and proper information to discuss mental health in a productive manner, dealing with related issues can seem impossible. Mental

illnesses are largely treatable just like cancer and heart disease and we need to make the resources available to everyone. I have friends and family members whose lives have been radically improved for the better when they educated themselves and their loved ones about their illnesses and took the proper steps toward living a mentally well life.

Q: Do you think it’s even harder for a bluecollar family like Pat Peoples’s to come to grips with a mentally ill loved one?

A: Absolutely. It’s no secret that education is still largely a privilege in our country and not a right. People of lesser means inherit lesser access to top education. Ignorance increases the stigma. And while our health care system is in flux, the best mental health care has usually been the most expensive.

Therapy is not always cheap and convincing health insurance companies to pay for enough visits can be difficult. I have friends with health insurance who have a hard time affording necessary prescription meds and are often forced to use generics that don’t always work as well. It’s

dangerous to put profit over the mental well being of a community, but that happens too often. And when it does, people of lesser means suffer more than people of privilege.

Q: When the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness discovered we were doing a community-wide reading of “The Silver Linings Playbook,” they called the next day. You’ve inspired celebrities like Bradley Cooper to speak out for the mentally ill. Is it

rewarding for you to see your first book spark serious discussions on mental health issues?

A: NAMI is an important organization. I talked privately with many people associated with the “Silver Linings Playbook” movie, and a surprising number chose to be involved with the film primarily because they care about erasing the stigma surrounding mental health.

I’m very grateful for any good that results from people interacting with my characters and stories.

Q: In “The Silver Linings Playbook” and “Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock,” your first-person narrators have such authentic voices. Can you describe how your experiences working in a mental health facility and as a high school teacher helped shape these characters and their voices?

A: Thank you. Fresh out of college I spent a year doing behavioral therapy in a neural health lockdown unit. It was an extremely formative time in my life. Many

of the people with whom I worked, especially the people who had suffered traumatic brain injuries, saw the world just a little differently. Many of them really tried hard to be their best, and it struck me that they often put so much more effort into their day-to-days than most of the lesschallenged people living outside of the unit, and yet they received much less credit. The same was true when I worked with troubled teens.

Often these were my favorite students — the ones who struggled in earnest with all of the big questions, allowing themselves to be emotionally vulnerable to the point of crisis, but also bravely facing the less pretty truths that so many of their peers ignored. As a storyteller, I always try to tell the truth. And in my experience the people who are well acquainted with their personal truths are often the ones who have been forced to take the hardest looks in the mirror.

Q: Speaking of high school, as a former English teacher, was it as much fun for you as it was for the reader to examine the staples of the high school curriculum through Pat’s lens?

A: I taught, and love, all of the novels Pat struggles with throughout “The Silver Linings Playbook.” I’m a huge Hemingway fan.

Back when I was teaching, a parent called to complain about the depressing nature of the books I had assigned in my American Literature course. He was concerned because his son was dealing with depression and this parent said something like, “Every single novel you teach paints a grim portrait of the world. Why can’t the kids read at least one happy book?” These were all classics he was condemning. The parent’s concern for the mental health of his child was sincere, which moved me greatly. And while it’s important to read the classics, Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” isn’t going to get you feeling warm and fuzzy about your fellow man, especially when battling depression. Should

15-year-olds trying to get into Ivy League schools be forced to study American classics if the reading of said books is having a seriously negative effect on their mental health? It was a question I had a hard time answering definitively in my mid-20s. In some ways, “The Silver Linings Playbook” was my answer.

Q: If you could create a freshman high school English curriculum from scratch, without the interference of an administrator or school board, what would your students read?

A: I’d still teach the classics, but I’d add more current Young Adult novels too. When I was teaching I was pretty snobby about my curriculum and would have never taught anything contemporary. I was also pretty insecure about who I was as a person and an artist back then, hence my need to adhere to imaginary highbrow rules for academia.

(When my agent first suggested I write YA, the young, naive, and silly me was initially offended!) There are many fantastic writers out there producing smart, relevant, and important stories that just so happen to be marketed as “Young Adult” in today’s publishing world.

Q: Your personal story of how you took the advice you had been giving your students and followed your dream is compelling. Do you think it would resonate with a kid like Leonard Peacock, who has been so battered by life that he sees murder-suicide as his only alternative?

Is there anything an adult can say to Leonard that can help?

A: I think the Leonard Peacock types are exactly who respond best to such stories, mostly because they are the ones who need story and art more than your average person. If I didn’t make a break from my suburban life as a high school English teacher, I don’t think I’d now be in a very good place, especially regarding my mental health.

Teaching is a wonderful profession and I have nothing against suburban life. It’s just that I felt as though my heart was going to explode if I didn’t acknowledge publicly that the life I was living was a lie and that I wanted — needed —something different in order

I think the best thing an adult can say to a Leonard Peacock type is this: “If you are different, that’s OK. There is room for you in the world — space for you to live your life on your own terms as long as you don’t hurt or inhibit anyone else.” Tolerance is the key. to be well mentally and spiritually.

For some people, conformity is a slow and torturous death.

Q: In his book “If Football’s a Religion, Why Don’t We Have a Prayer?,” Jere Longman wrote: “However brusque, Eagles fans possessed a cockeyed faithfulness. They returned every year. Eagles fans said they would never come back, but they always did, even when their ardor was gut-shot by torment ... Fans expected disappointment and tried to hold back their hearts so the next letdown would not feel so crippling, but they could not hold back and they carried beneath this fear an injured hope that the worst would not happen and things might finally, somehow, turn out for the best.”

Can the same be said of Pat? A: You know, it’s funny. Pat is sort of a reluctant Eagles fan. He follows the team in hopes of connecting with the other men in his life — his best friend, his brother, and especially his father. As a little kid, I really didn’t care all that much about whether the Eagles won, but I pretended I did, just so I would have something in common with my

I became pretty obsessive about the Birds in my early 20s and started to make Sundays at the Vet into twisted father, grandfather, and uncles.

therapy sessions where I grafted all of the best and worst of my life onto the ups and downs of the Kelly Green team. Whenever friends or family members were going through rough times, Eagles games took on a heightened significance for them, too. There was part of me that knew this was not healthy, even when I was young. But it’s maybe something you can’t escape if you grow up in and around Philly and are raised by Eagles fans. Like most Eagles fans, Pat inherited his green mania.

Q: What was it like growing up with the same last name as one of the greatest receivers in Eagles history? Did you have a Mike Quick jersey?

A: My father’s name is also Mike Quick. When I was little we used to get calls for Mike Quick the wide receiver (sometimes asking for tickets) and the callers never believed us when we told them they had the wrong Mike Quick. In a strange twist of fate, my father now does business with No. 82 and they sometimes golf together. I’ve attached a picture of my dad Mike Quick with former Eagle Mike Quick who has told my dad he’s a fan of my book “Boy21.” I proudly wear a throwback No. 82 jersey at the Linc now.

Q: I know you’ve said the inspiration for the name Pat Peoples was not Everyman, but instead a bar and a sandwich shop near the La Salle University campus. You’re sure it wasn’t the great Eagles guard Woody Peoples?

A: Ha! It was actually a bar that used to be in Westmont, N.J., called Pat’s and a pizza place in Cherry Hill called Peoples Pizza. As

an unpublished writer, I never dreamed people would ask me so many questions about my protagonist’s name. Up-and-coming writers beware.

Q: Remembering that the statute of limitations has expired, did you ever pee in the sink of a 700 Level bathroom? (In “The Silver Linings Playbook,” Pat Peoples mentions this behavior, previously known only to the denizens of the upper deck of old Veterans Stadium.)

A: My lawyers have advised me not to answer this question.

Q: Vet or Linc?

A: When they knocked down the Vet I was depressed for days. It was a huge monument to my childhood. It wasn’t pretty, but it — along with The Spectrum — was ours. And the Vet turf was the 12th man. As someone who makes his living promoting empathy and kindness, many of my 700 Level memories should have me saying “Linc” here, but I’d

gladly take the Orange Line from La Salle to Pattison just to sit once more in that chaos. For better or worse, I came of age in the 700 Level.

WHAT Matthew Quick, author of “The Silver Linings Playbook” WHEN Friday, Nov. 15, 7 p.m.

WHERE John Witherspoon Middle School Auditorium, 217 Walnut Lane

Princeton Reads Events BOOK DISCUSSIONS

The library will have more than 100 copies of “The Silver Linings Playbook” available to borrow during Princeton Reads.

Thursday, Oct. 10, 10:30 a.m.

Led by librarian Kristin Friberg as part of the monthly Fiction Book Group Conference Room Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2 p.m.

Led by librarian Linda Adams as part of the Elm Court Book Group Elm Court, 300 Elm Road Co-sponsored by the library and Princeton Senior Resource Center.

Friday, Oct. 18, 1 p.m.

Led by Harriet Pakula-Teweles Suzanne Patterson Center, 45 Stockton St. Co-sponsored by the library and Princeton Senior Resource Center.

Tuesday, Oct. 22, 7 p.m.

Led by Kristin Friberg as part of the monthly Books on Tap Book Group Yankee Doodle Tap Room, Nassau Inn Sunday, Nov. 3, 3 p.m.

Led by librarian Janie Hermann Quiet Room

SUNDAY KICKOFF EVENT OCTOBER 20

10 a.m.

Family Fun Garbage Bag Run Mayor Liz Lempert and other Princeton notables will lead a run from Princeton High School to Hinds Plaza, where a pep rally to kick off Princeton Reads will begin. Garbage bags, like the one worn by Pat Peoples, the main character in “Silver Linings Playbook,” will be provided at the starting line. Children 10 and under are welcome to ride scooters or bikes. Strollers and wagons are welcome, too. All participants in the run will be entered into a drawing where two winners will receive a voucher for two tickets to a 2013 Princeton University football home game of their choice. Winners will be selected at the pep rally on Hinds Plaza that starts at 11 a.m.

11 a.m.

Pep Rally We’ll kick off Princeton Reads with a pep rally featuring family friendly activities related to “The Silver Linings Playbook.” Marching bands, a tailgate party, prizes and the Eagles vs. Cowboys game on the big screen are part of the fun. In addition to 50 pompoms, Princeton University has donated 100 tickets to the Nov. 2 game against Cornell that will be given out during the pep rally and other Princeton Reads programs. Hinds Plaza and Community Room 12:30 p.m.

Football Fanatics Competition Come dressed in your best game day uniform to show support for your favorite team. Face paint, jerseys and imagination welcome. A panel of judges will determine the winner. Hinds Plaza 1 p.m.

Philadelphia Eagles vs Dallas Cowboys The showdown of these division rivals had a special significance for Pat and his family in both the “Silver Linings” book and film. You can watch the division rivals square off for real on our big screen following the pep rally. Community Room

FILM SCREENINGS OF “SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK” The Oscar-winning 2012 film version of Matthew Quick’s book will be screened three times during Princeton Reads, including a special event with a post-screening discussion led by the National Alliance on Mental illness. David O. Russel directs directs Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence in the starring roles of Pat and Tiffany, with Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher and Julia Stiles in supporting roles. The film received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Actress, Actor, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress. It was the first film since 1981 to be nominated for the four acting categories and the first since 2004 nominated for the Big Five Oscars. Lawrence won the Academy Award for Best Actress. 2 hours, 2 minutes Friday, Oct. 4, 1 p.m.

Suzanne Patterson Center, 45 Stockton St. Co-sponsored by the library and the Princeton Senior Resource Center

Friday, Nov. 1, 6:30 p.m.

Community Room

Nov. 9, 3 p.m.

Film and Discussion A screening of the film based on this year’s Princeton Reads selection by Matthew Quick is followed by a discussion lead by representatives of the Mercer County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness about how mental illness is depicted in the film. 2 hours, 2 minutes. Community Room Co-sponsored by the library and NAMI of Mercer County.

SCREENINGS OF RELATED FILMS Film and Q&A: “Mad Hot Ballroom” Oct. 24, 6:30 p.m.

Following a screening of this documentary about a New York City youth learning to dance and participating in a dance competition, writer-producer Amy Sewell provides updates on the film and holds a Q&A session.

Community Room

Ballroom Blitz Oct. 26 A day of screenings of films about ballroom dance, a major element of “The Silver Linings Playbook,” includes “Shall We Dance?”

(2004, 1 hour, 46 minutes) at 11 a.m.; “Dance With Me” (1998, 2 hours, 6 minutes) at 1 p.m.; and “Strictly Ballroom” (1992, 1 hour, 34 minutes) at 3:30 p.m. Community Room

SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS

Create Your Own Silver Lining Oct. 20 through Nov. 15 “The Great Gatsby,” “A Farewell to Arms,” and “The Bell Jar” are novels that translate across generations. But just as Pat is surprised by the turns these classics take in “The Silver Linings Playbook,” sometimes we might wish to rewrite the ending of the books we read.

What if Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby never met his fate in the swimming pool? Or if Hemingway’s Frederic Henry embraced his son after the death of his beloved Catherine? Let us know how and why you would rewrite the ending of

any book. Email read@princetonlibrary.org, comment on our Facebook page, or tweet us using the hashtag #PPLReads13.

Tango Lessons Sunday, Oct. 27, 2 p.m.

The characters in “The Silver Linings Playbook” form a bond through ballroom dancing. Viva Tango gives a beginner lesson in the Argentine Tango followed by a demonstration of this captivating dance.

Suzanne Patterson Center, 45 Stockton St. Co-sponsored by the library, Princeton Senior Resource Center and Viva Tango.

Flavors of Princeton: “Silver Linings” Edition Tuesday, Oct. 29, 10 a.m.

Michael LaCorte, executive chef of the Nassau Inn, prepares his own version of the crabby snacks and cheesesteak sliders mentioned in “The Silver Linings Playbook” and gives ideas for appetizers for any game day.

Community Room

In Our Own Voice Wednesday, Nov. 6, 7 p.m.

Speakers share personal stories about living with mental illness and achieving recovery in this program developed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Audience feedback and questions are encouraged. In Our Own Voice is an opportunity for those who have struggled with mental illness to gain confidence and to share their individual experiences of recovery and transformation.

NAMI considers audience participation one of the most important aspects of the presentation. “The more audience members become involved, the closer they come to understanding what it is like to live with a mental illness and stay in recovery,” the organization says.

Community Room Co-sponsored by the library and NAMI of Mercer County.

Story Slam: “Silver Linings” Edition Tuesday, Nov 12, 7 p.m.

In any life situation, funny or sad, a silver lining can likely be found. We want to hear about a time when you found a silver lining when it was least expected. Bring your prepared story (or poem) of three minutes or less to share with the audience. Reading will be heard on a first-come first-served basis as time allows. Community Room

The Official Guide to Princeton Reads — Discussion Questions — More about “The Silver Linings Playbook” — More about Matthew Quick — Mental health resources — Football resources — A comparison of the book and film — An essay: “Eagles Fans: Why We Are the Way We Are” — Much more

THE PLAYBOOK

Available in a limited-edition 100 percent recycled binder (while supplies last) or as a brochure at the library Princeton Reads is made possilbe through funding provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this programming do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.