Whoopi Goldberg reveals her father forced her mother to undergo electroshock treatment – The Mercury News
By KARU F. DANIELS | kdaniels@nydailynews.com | New York Daily News
Whoopi Goldberg revealed that her father forced her mother to undergo electroshock treatment — one of many revelations in her upcoming memoir, “Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me.”
The EGOT winner opened up about the painful memory during a special segment on “The View,” during which her co-hosts had the chance to chat with her about the book.
“There was a time in this country when your husband, or your brother, or any man involved in your life, could make medical decisions for you,” Goldberg said. “My mother’s father – my grandfather – and my father agreed. They agreed that my mother should receive shock treatment for two years.
“I was struck by the fact that in your lifetime it was still legal,” co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin said in reaction to the horrific memory.
Goldberg, 68, also recalled that when she was about 8 years old, her mother, Emma Harris Johnson, did not remember her or her older brother, Clyde, because of the electroshock treatment she received during his long stay at Bellevue Hospital. for a nervous breakdown.
The “Ghost” star said she simply accepted that “things happened” and didn’t question it until later in life.
“For me it was like, oh, so they took her to this hospital and no one is going to tell me anything. And I can’t go see her,” she shared. “They just never talked about it. You didn’t do that (at the time).
“Now we discuss everything with the kids, and that might not be the best thing to do either,” she added with a laugh.
In 2010, Harris Johnson died of a stroke at the age of 78, while Goldberg’s brother succumbed to a ruptured brain aneurysm in 2015.
Due out May 7, “Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me” is a portrait of grief – described by Publisher’s Weekly as “a balm for wounded souls.”
California Daily Newspapers
