In this remarkable collection, 22 writers describe suicidal despair or mania—or coming to terms with a generational legacy of mental illness. Into Sanity includes personal essays by contributors from all over the United States and a preface by Mark Vonnegut, who judged the contest at Talking Writing magazine that sparked these true stories.
The media has paid more attention to suicide risks and depression in recent years, especially after the death of well-loved celebrities. And yet, mental illness remains misunderstood. Into Sanity offers the lived reality. These writers underscore why the stigma makes mental illness so hard to talk about—and why it takes courage to speak up.
Jadual kandungan
Introduction - Living in Between • Martha Nichols ix
Preface - Telling the Truth to Save Your Own Life • Mark Vonnegut xxi
Snapshots
Unleashed • Jane Mc Cafferty 3
Try Ending This Way • Beth Richards 15
Hurricane Warnings • Martha Nichols 27
Descent
Night Fishing • Sara Hubbs 35
Dog College • Greg Correll 47
Beauty Marks • Rae Alexandra Underberg 57
Spring Harbor, Again • Kristine Snow Millard 71
Family
Storms of the Circus World • Lorri Mc Dole 83
Locked Doors • Amy Mc Vay Abbott 93
What If • Madeleine Holman 101
Paige • Drew Ciccolo 115
Arrival
Climbing the Walls • Joanna Brichetto 129
Loose Associations • Carl Bowlby 137
Plucking and Preening • Linda Saslow 147
The Longest Walk • Kim Triedman 155
Witness
Confined to Quarters • Marianne Goldsmith 167
Camera Obscura • Rebecca Schumejda 177
Sacred Touch • Julie Evans 189
Legacy
Hoard • April Newman 201
Nine Photographs • Joe Vastano 211
Not Whistling Dixie • Maureen Sullivan 221
Dispatches from the Land of Well • Jamie Passaro 231
Epilogue
Why Going Crazy Isn’t Just a Good Story • Martha Nichols 243
Contributors’ Notes 255
About Talking Writing 265