This week’s book had a big impact on me. It is a collection of twelve stories from ordinary people about living with mental illness. Dr Joanna Cannon, herself a psychiatrist and the editor of this book, realised that not many people have the ability to write about their mental illness. For this book, she paired twelve people who suffered a variety of mental illnesses with twelve talented authors to deliver their stories. Someone who is very unwell with mental illness usually doesn’t feel heard. ‘No one knows how I feel’ they often say. If it is written down, it is more likely to be acknowledged.
Jeremy tells the story of how, as a teenager in the early 1970’s, he was forced to go through conversion therapy. There is the story of a woman who escaped a cult. A young man explains how his gambling addiction started and how he is still struggling. The story of a new mother who suffered Post-Partum Psychosis was especially poignant to me. A close family member struggles / struggled with delusions, but he is more settled now with medication. He explained, exactly as the young mother in the story, that even now he is ‘better’ the past is now an untrustworthy thing where he has difficulty to establish what are real memories and what were delusions.
This book is different from any other book about mental illness because it brings the reader as close as possible to the lived experience of a person with severe mental illness. The twelve authors have done an excellent job in keeping the voice of the participants authentic. If you’ve had your own struggles with your mental health, these stories will make you feel less alone. If you have friends or family members who have been affected, they will help you to understand what they have been through. If you are lucky enough not to have first-hand experience of mental illness, this book will give you an invaluable insight into what it is like to undergo a mental health crisis.
Edited by Joanna Cannon
The Borough Press, $35
Wilma
