Hidden Lives: True Stories from People Who Live with Mental Illness, Paperback

A revised and updated edition of a collection of personal essays that illuminate what life is like for those who live with mental illness, and how it impacts their family members.

More than 4 million Canadians and 57 million Americans suffer from a diagnosable mental illness, and yet there are still considerable stigmas and a great deal of misunderstanding surrounding even the most common diagnoses--schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, clinical depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and dissociative identity disorder.

Rather than analyze the diagnoses and symptoms, these first-hand accounts focus on the very essence of a psycho-emotional breakdown, and respond to the mental, physical, and emotional turmoil it inevitably causes. What does a mother do when her teenage son's personality suddenly fractures? How does a police officer cope when his employer refuses to provide adequate care until he can prove his PTSD is work-related? How do children grow up under the care of a manic father whose illness lands him in and out of medical and social incarceration?

Raw, honest, and painful, these essays communicate disappointment and despair, but also courage and compassion. They offer a lifeline for sufferers and support for their friends and family, and promote new and improved attitudes toward those with mental illness.

With a foreword by respected physician, bestselling author, and renowned speaker Dr. Gabor Mat , Hidden Lives gives readers a place to turn, and provides a platform to share their struggle.

About the Author:

Lenore Rowntree's writing has appeared in several Canadian literary journals, and her poetry was included in the anthology Best Canadian Poetry 2010. She was shortlisted for a CBC Literary Award in 2009 for an essay written about her sister's childhood schizophrenia.
Andrew Boden's articles on mental illness have appeared in Open Minds Quarterly and Other Voices. His short story "Confluence of Spoors" was published in the 2010 Journey Prize anthology. He writes about his brother's schizophrenia.
Dr. Gabor Mate is a bestselling author and renowned speaker who presented a TEDx talk in Rio. For years he worked closely with patients challenged by hard-core drug addiction, mental illness and HIV, and is now a co-founder of Compassion for Addiction, a new non-profit organization.
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