Another beautiful mind gives us a rare opportunity to experience the torments of hallucinations, delusions and anxieties a biochemical brain disorder can bring.
In her most recent book,
ALONG CAME A SPIDER: A PERSONAL LOOK AT MADNESS
, author Maryanne Raphael shares with us her intimate feelings, deepest pain, and eventual recovery.
Her words are not the usual definitions and descriptions found in mental health literature, but those of a lifelong journal keeper as she endures hospitalizations and the periods in between.
She shows the universality of mental illness as she keeps writing through her crises in Brazil, Morocco, New York, California and Hawaii.
And finally she gives us hope that those who suffer from a mental illness can live a stable, productive life. From her home base in Carlsbad, CA., Maryanne now travels the globe, continues her writing career and is an inspiration to all.
Thelma Hayes, Founding President and Advocacy Chair, NAMI, NCSDC, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, North Costal San Diego County