Ordinary People

Written By: Judith Guest

Plot Summaries:

The book begins as Conrad is returning home from his eight-month hospital stay after attempted suicide due to his older brother’s death. As a result of his stay in the hospital, Conrad is a year behind in school and feels lost in the rush of high school. He starts to think that if he returns to activities he was involved with before the hospital trip, he may find a sense of security and life may work out. But it turns out to be just the opposite. Trying to deal with his overwhelming feelings of anxiety, disappointment, and failure, Conrad soon learns that sometimes he can’t do it alone and he has to lighten his load. After realizing how much swimming is actually hurting him, he quits the team. He continues with choir which helps him focus his energy and meet a girl along the way.
Conrad finds it difficult, like most teenagers, to talk to his parents about his problems. He starts to see Doctor Berger, a physiologist and becomes great friends with him. They form a close relationship and when life seems too hard for Conrad, he calls on Doctor Berger. Conrad also finds comfort in Jeannine Pratt, a girl from his choir class who soon becomes his non-official-girlfriend.
Con’s parents are complete opposites that have attracted but seem to fall apart. Cal, the father, is trying to find a balance between getting too involved in his son’s life and not knowing enough. Beth, con’s mother, on the other hand, is avoiding the problem and would rather ignore it and wait for it to disappear. The relationship between mother and son is rocky in Con and Beth’s case and it is an association that is usually avoided.

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