Diary of a Schizophrenic

My book, Diary of a Schizophrenic, has recently been released as a paperback. The book was written during a schizophrenic episode I had in 1998. The first half of the book was written while I was ill, but the second half was written during the recovery which followed. I am proud of this book, for a number of reasons. Firstly it gives a positive outcome for a very negative experience. Anyone who has experienced a schizophrenic episode knows how debilitating it can be. Secondly, the initial release of the e-book, and now the paperback, occurred during my candidature for a PhD. My PhD is on schizophrenia (in philosophy), and so I thought it important to give hope to those suffering schizophrenia that success is possible after an episode. And I might add, it took some courage to go public during a degree which is so important to me.

The book is interesting because it does show the hallmarks of psychosis (delusion, avolition, anhedonia), but it is on the whole very clearly written. It delves quite extensively into literature and art, and mentions a whole host of the classics such as Homer's Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid, John Milton's Paradise Lost and Goethe's Faust. It mentions many classic authors such as Walt Whitman and William Blake. I was about to commence my honours year at university, and my thesis was to be on Ludwig Wittgenstein, so I write quite extensively about him. Many artists are mentioned, and trips to galleries and plays detailed. Overall I would call it an aesthetic book.

Things have gone pretty well for me subsequent to this episode. I am now married with a son. My poetry has been published in a number of good journals, which you can find in other blog entries below. I have had academic articles published (again see below), and I am working and am generally enjoying life.

Now time for a bit of promotion. You can buy a copy of my book from a number of places. Amazon in the UK are selling it, as are Amazon in the US. Books on Board are selling the e-book, as are Amazon in the US (as a Kindle book). Chipmunkapublishing are the publishers of the book, and you can get copies of the paperback or e-book by going to their website. Just click on any of the above links you'll get to the respective shops. The book may also be ordered in from any bookshop.

If you choose to buy the book, I hope you enjoy it. As I said it has given a very negative experience a very positive outcome. I hope the book can work to help diminish some of the stigma surrounding mental illness in society.