Available for May Mental Health Month from Monkshood Press--A Story of Surviving Bipolar Illness
Colorado Springs, CO (PRWEB) April 25, 2014 -- "Walks on the Margins: A Story of Bipolar Illness," a memoir by novelist Kathy Brandt and her son, Max Maddox. aims to put a face on mental illness and tell their family's story of struggle and recovery.
"Walks on the Margins" traces the joint and separate struggles of Brandt and Maddox after Maddox was diagnosed with bipolar illness. In alternating chapters, Maddox offers a lyrical narrative of what his descent into bipolar, also known as manic depression, looked like from the inside. Brandt describes the heartbreak of being her son's most passionate advocate and records her frustrations with doctors, hospitals and the law as she sought good treatment for her son. Their courage and dedication shine through in their frank and beautifully written story.
“Novelist Kathy Brandt and her son, Max, take readers on a terrifying journey through our nation’s broken, overwhelmed, underfunded, and frustrating mental health care system. 'Walks on the Margins' will make you angry. It will make you cry. It will also inspire you!” --Pete Earley, former Washington Post journalist and author of Crazy.
One in four people are affected by mental illness. Yet, the stigma associated with these illnesses remains intact and highly toxic. Movies and media reinforce the images of “crazed maniacs” lurking behind doors with bloody knives. No wonder those with mental illness and their families don’t talk about it.
“We need to break that silence and step out of the shadows,” Brandt says. “It’s time to put a face on mental illness and to tell our stories of struggle and recovery.”
Brandt has become a vocal advocate who writes, speaks and teaches about mental health. She is past president of the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and received the 2012 NAMI National Award for service on behalf of those with mental illness and their families.
Maddox today is a successful artist who teaches and has shown his work in galleries in Philadelphia and Denver. He speaks and writes about mental illness and is a certified “In Our Own Voices” speaker for NAMI.
The book was a finalist for the Iowa Review Award in Nonfiction and has been selected to receive the 2014 Golden Quill Award, presented annually for outstanding literary achievement and for the authors’ exemplary community service.
Brandt and Maddox are available for interviews, speaking engagements and book club appearances. They have been featured on radio, TV, and in national magazines.
"Walks on the Margins: A Story of Bipolar Illness" is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It has been formatted for Kindle and Nook.
Contact: http://kathybrandtauthor.com/contact.
For more information, visit http://www.KathyBrandtAuthor.com/.
Kathy Brandt, Monkshood Press, http://www.kathybrandtauthor.com, +1 719-332-2458, [email protected]
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