I'm reading This Fragile Life by Charlotte Pierce-Baker. It's a story about her son's battle with mental illness, but it's is also the continuation from her first book Surviving the Silence. In truth, the Pierce-Baker family narrowly survived a violent and terrifying home invasion while living in the middle-class suburb. The child in the house, her son witnessed the entire ordeal. He now seems to battle bipolar disorder, I wonder about PTSD and the impact of ACE, which don't appear the discussions related to their clinical encounters.
Professor Pierce-Baker is a renowned professor of English and women's studies, her gift of storytelling offers insight into mental illness through the lens of a mother, the ultimate caregiver. It's the story of one African American family, but deeply rests in America's experience with stigma, silence as well as impatience with those who suffer from mental illness within family settings, communities as well as health care institutions. Her eloquence manages to soothe the narrative, while compelling to you read on. Have you read either book. Share your thoughts.
You can read an excerpt here.
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