Journey Untold: Twisted Love: My Mother's Struggle with Mental Illness

My story as a child living in the United States Virgin Islands with a mother that went from sadness, to depression (undiagnosed) due to lack of education, stigma & awareness. Living in a small community where everyone knew one another, I lived with her for over 15 years until her illness progressed into paranoid schizophrenia. I am ending my silence so others can get the help they need. I am unveiling my childhood tragedies of almost losing my life by the hands of my own mother. Tormented daily from bullying and retribution for no other reason than my mother had the label placed on her of being "crazy", being her child I also carried that label although I did not have the illness. My hope is that this book will help to remove the shame associated with this disease and that a discussion can take place in personal circles about the harm that is done when we keep silent about unpopular disorders for fear of shame, retribution, or bullying. Mental illness is real; its consequences are shattering; and the lives left to pick up the pieces can only be rebuilt with truth and acceptance.