This book is a collection of essays
recounting the personal memories of established authors and poets
who are based in Canada and America. Some of the writers had been
diagnosed with a mental illness or a developmental disorder
themselves, others have close family who were diagnosed. It draws
to mind that as well as the sufferer, the family of the sufferer
also needs to be heard; as they are the ones left with the vivid
emotions to endure and pick up the pieces and carry on with their
lives the best they can. It shows the immense courage of the
writers to speak out. To put aside their grief and pain, so
they may talk about their experiences. The aim of the book is to break down the barriers
of prejudice, stigma and bias that surround mental
illness.
The collection is edited by Lenore Rowntree and Andrew Boden.
And there is a foreword written by Dr. Gabor Mate, MD, a physician
and best-selling author of various books about the impact of a person's
childhood on their mental and physical health through neurological
and psychological mechanisms, about childhood adversity. Lenore
writes in the introduction that '' these stories, just like the
lives, are not all negative. There are successes, there is even
humour, and above all, we hope you will see the strange, sweet love
exuding from the stories.''
It is a useful book for sufferers and carers. The
authors describe their day to day emotions and how they have coped
with the impact of mental illness within their lives.
The book is divided into 5 chapters,
each containing the autobiographical essays. The authors write
about their experiences of suicide of a loved one, depression,
bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder,
autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder and dissociative identity
disorder. The book ends with brief introductions
of the authors in the form of notes of the
contributors.
In keeping with modern technology, I read the kindle version
of the book, which is half the price of the paperback
version, as the paperback has not been released in the UK. A
Facebook page has also been launched in support of the bookand its message.