Today we present the third part of our guest post from Susie L. Landown-Clarke, the self-published author of Mental Illness: MI Doesn’t Look Like Me. Susie’s book is “a story of intimate warfare among rivals, where friend and foe confront the spiritual suffocation of a woman suffering from complex mental illnesses and disorders.”
You can read the first two parts of this interview at the following links: Part One | Part Two
Susie, what inspired, you to write your book and how long did it take you to finish it?
I was inspired to write the book after realizing my struggles were parallel to so many, yet only vertical to where I saw myself. These circling emotions motivated me while also comforting me. I was inside a dark square, being corned by multiple adversaries. However, once my darkness started becoming illuminated, I realized that ‘darkness was only the space between light.’ So, Iike many who suffered from mental illness, I understood the dark struggle; therefore, it was important that I advocated for their psychological freedoms.
My desire is to serve as an agent of change to dispel societal perceptions, as well convey the detriments caused by mental illness. I want to offer hope by encouraging those suffering, and enlightening those that are uninformed. No matter one’s illness, they deserve communal empathies–to not be shunned or feel ashamed by an inadvertent illness that they had no control over.
It took me roughly a year to write my story and an additional six months for the editing and publishing processes. This may seem long to some and short to others, but for me it was an appropriate amount of time, allowing conciseness with my change of thought.
What’s the one message you’d like to convey to readers through your book?
Although mental illness is a health affliction rooted in darkness, those suffering must not succumb to the prognosis but rather acknowledge the diagnosis by the medical professional.
Once I recognized mental recovery was a process of therapeutic progression, my emotions became lighter–even when sunny days appeared to be dark. Once I exited my closet, my mental recovery seemed conceivable, enriching my psyche to believe that re-claiming my quality of life was possible!
What was your favorite part of the self-publishing experience?
Awaiting expert insight during each assessment phase, after submitting the writings per review and final overview. The end result was amazing and a personal milestone that I’m grateful to share.
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Mental Illness: MI Doesn’t Look Like Me is available at Amazon and the AuthorHouse Bookstore. We’ll present the conclusion of our interview with Susie L. Landown-Clarke next week.
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