Saturday Review: “Lifting the Veil: The Invisible World of Mental Health Care,” a review by Donna Summerlin of Hannah Thurman’s Mercy Hill (2026), in NCLR Online Spring 2026
Set in the decline of North Carolina’s first state mental hospital, Mercy Hill cross-examines the lives of Dr. Lisa Cross and her four daughters as they confront the pressures of mental health and the frictions it creates within a family. Summerlin writes that Mercy Hill “offers a powerful glimpse into political and economic realities of providing mental health care” as it paints a “complex portrait of a contemporary family confronting psychological and social realities of their own while fighting to preserve a common dream.”
In recent years, mental health issues have risen steadily in both younger and older generations due to a lack of proper resources being brought forth to tackle these problems. Mercy Hill serves as a mirror on how these issues tear families apart, or, despite each one having different experiences, they can come together to fight these issues and healing take place. As the book suggests, a good place to start is understanding yourself and your loved ones.
Read the entire review here and buy a copy of Mercy Hill from your local independent bookstore or Bookshop.org!
