ANOTHER SUICIDE

The second story is of the Madoff family. According to Diane Henrique’s, The Wizard of Lies, for much of his sons lives Bernie Madoff ran a Ponzi scheme that allowed them to live and work in a prestigious environment. When Bernie was forced to tell his sons that his business was failing and that it had all been a fraud, the two sons reacted quite differently in the immediate aftermath and in the years that followed.

Andrew Madoff, the youngest son sat on the floor and cried when he first heard from his father that their entire business was a fraud; Mark the eldest raged at his father. While both sons consulted an attorney about how they should proceed with the knowledge of their father’s crime, Andrew was able to hug his father after his tears. Mark just continued with his anger. While neither son was ever indicted or even the official target of an investigation, they lived different lives after the arrest and imprisonment of their dad.

Both men complied with their attorney’s advice to sever all ties with their parents. Andrew continued to use the name Madoff and he his fiancé formed an organization to help others respond to crisis. Mark, on the other hand, changed his name, as did his wife and children. He continually struggled with the guilt by association and felt that no one believed that he had no previous knowledge of his father’s crimes and took no part in them. He eventually committed suicide.

 Here are two brothers who had similar upbringings, and worked in the same family business, had access to the same family resources and yet one is able to move on with his life and the other ended his. Is this because we each have different innate abilities/disabilities, or different experiences, relationships?