Mariel Hemingway was just 16 years old when she starred as Woody Allen's teenage girlfriend in the controversial romantic-comedy 'Manhattan'. As the granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, Mariel was from one of the most famous and recognizable families in America. But despite her grandfather’s success, there was a dark side to her last name, which the now 53-year-old has recounted in two new novels, released Tuesday. On top of the world: Mariel Hemingway, 53, has her life in order and has written two revealing books about growing up in a family riddled with depression, alcoholism and suicides . Independent: Mariel Hemingway, the granddaughter to literary legend Ernest Hemingway, had written a new book where she describes overcoming the legacy of mental illness, addiction, and suicide in her family . Patterns of depression: Her grandfather, Ernest Hemingway killed himself just months before Mariel was born . Out Came The Sun, aimed at adults, and Invisible Girl, written for teens, describes Mariel’s journey of self-discovery and reveals the true stories of the tragedies and troubles of the Hemingway family, which was plagued by mental illness, addiction and suicide. In both books, Hemingway describes her childhood as chaotic. Both of her parents (her father, Jack Hemingway, is the son of Hadley Hemingway – Ernest’s first wife; her mother is Byra Louise Hemingway) were alcoholics, and she recalls their loud fights during which she played the peacemaker and tried to pick up the pieces. She writes about being woken up by yelling, the smashing of plates and wishing it was all a terrible dream. 'I thought all families threw bottles and would yell and scream like that. I didn't know,' Mariel told Metro. She reveals that part of the reason she decided to write two books about her depression was to reach out to a younger audience that isn't normally served. 'My publisher said "I think we should help young people." I was so excited because I've always wanted to reach out to that age group, because that was when I was the most scared. That was when life made the least sense to me,' she told Yahoo News. Mariel reveals in candid detail the story of her troubled childhood in a famous family haunted by depression, alcoholism, illness, and suicide. Cursed chain: Mariel with, from left, sisters Muffet and Margaux - once the world's highest paid model - and their father Jack . Difficult childhood: Since her documentary Running From Crazy premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, Hemingway said she has spent much of her time touring the country and telling her story . Nightmare: Mariel, pictured here at about 15, says in her books her parents would drink, fight and then she would be left to clean up the mess each night . Mariel was born in 1961, just a few months after her grandfather, Ernest Hemingway, infamously killed himself with a double-barreled shotgun. The idealized life that the writer was selling to the world, Mariel says, was a coverup for the truth of his self-dramatization and a chronic self-identity crisis, his alcoholism, and his attraction to war. Ernest’s life started to fall apart when he learned his own father had shot himself in the head with a Civil War revolver, according to Mariel. But the family suicides didn't end there. Over the years Mariel's family was said to be cursed. Mariel's elder sister, Margaux,  a beautiful fashion model and actress, also suffered from depression and in 1996 at the age of 42, she died from an overdose of sedatives. Mariel says that both Margaux and another elder sister, Joan were both sexually abused by their father Jack, Ernest's son. However, says she escaped such sexual abuse . The rest of her family, she says, was riddled with alcoholism and arguing. Seminal writer: Mariel's father Jack had a strange relationship with his own father, Ernest Hemingway (pictured), says the actress . Massive blow: Mariel's (pictured in Cannes in 1979) success eclipsed that of Margaux when she followed her sister into an acting career . Sisters:  Mariel Hemingway, 14, with her sister Margaux Hemingway in New York in 1976. She tragically took her own life 20 years later after suffering from depression . Mission: Mariel's mission as a young girl was to escape the desperate cycles of severe mental health issues that had plagued generations of her family. Here she is pictured in 1983 in the film Star 80 . Her younger sister, Muffet, a heavy drug used in her teens, was schizophrenic, diagnosed with bipolar disorder and spent years in mental hospitals. As if that wasn't enough, her mother had cancer (and later died from a drug overdose) and four other members of her family all committed suicide. it became Mariel's mission as a girl to escape the desperate cycles of severe mental health issues that had plagued generations of her family. It meant Mariel, as the youngest member of her family, faced a painful struggle to stay sane. In 2013 Mariel wrote a documentary two years ago called Running From Crazy. It was the first time she had begun to tell her story. She began to speak in front of groups and realized how very similar other people's tales were to her own. 'We just have variations on a theme. We all have something that's affected us in a way that's made us sad or confused us as kids. I'm starting to come to the realization that my purpose is to help other people be OK with the idea that we're not perfect, we're not all balanced, we're not all happy, shiny people all the time,' she told Yahoo News. She found unusual ways to cope with the struggle and became OCD and obsessive about her food, schedule, and organization she reveals in her memoir. 'I have a family of addicts. Everybody was addicted to something. When my mother got sick, I started to think that food had something to do with it. I became so obsessed with ways of eating — whether it was macrobiotic, vegan, fruitarian or drinking coffee all the time — such extremes. I turned it into a positive, but it took me a lot of years. I was obsessed because that was my addiction. That was what I did to deal with whatever I couldn't handle emotionally,' she says.. Partly to cope, Mariel ventured into acting. 'Part of why I liked making movies so much is that I would make families out of the whole set,' she says. 'It was a way to avoid worrying about my own family.' In the memoir she also talks about filming Manhattan with Woody Allen. She says Allen showed romantic interest in her which made her uncomfortable, according to FOX News. May-December: In her new memoir, Mariel Hemingway says Woody Allen asked her to go to Paris with her after filming 'Manhattan' in 1979. She was just 16 years old when the film was shot - to Allen's 43. Above, a still from the film in which Hemingway plays Allen's schoolgirl romance . Adult themes: Woody Allen and Mariel Hemingway on the set of Manhattan. At the time of filming, she had no idea how risque the material was and it wasn't until she saw the finished film she became aware . After wrapping filming on the 1979 movie, Mariel says then 43-year-old Allen flew out to her parent's home in Idaho for a visit, during which he asked her to go to Paris with him. 'Our relationship was platonic, but I started to see that he had a kind of crush on me, though I dismissed it as the kind of thing that seemed to happen any time middle-aged men got around young women,' Mariel wrote. A teenager at the the time, she told her parents that she 'didn't know what the arrangement was going to be' and 'wasn't sure' if she was going to have her own room. 'Woody hadn't said that. He hadn't even hinted it,' Mariel remembers. 'But I wanted them to put their foot down. They didn't. They kept lightly encouraging me.' On the up: Marial Hemingway has been romantically linked with former stuntman Bobby Williams, with whom she has co-authored several self-help books . These days, Mariel practices yoga and is hoping her books on depression will help thousands with the condition . Mariel recalls waking up in the middle of the night 'with the certain knowledge that I was an idiot'. She then went to Allen's guest room, shook him awake and asked: 'I'm not going to get my room am I?' While he fumbled to put on his glasses, Hemingway made up her mind before he could even respond. 'I can't go to Paris with you,' she said. The next morning, Allen ordered a private jet and left the family's ranch. Mariel picked up an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in the role. Although the twisted legacy of her family will never quite leave Mariel, in her two memoirs she is able to open up about her claustrophobic first marriage to Steve Crisman, her acting career, and turning to spiritual healers and charlatans for solace. Now desperate to escape the cycles of severe mental health issues that have plagued the Hemingways, Mariel has remained strong and committed to a healthy life, learning how to overcome the family demons. Mariel has two daughters, Dree, a successful model and Langley, an artist, and has found love with her partner, Bobby Williams.
The actress and granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway describes what it was like for her growing up .
She has written two distinct books, one for adults and one teenagers .
Around 10 per cent of Americans suffer from depression .
The books speak about about mental illness and what it is like living in a troubled family .
Hemingway tells about her own experiences with depression, eating disorders, OCD, and how she learned to overcome the issues .