Scenes From A Mental Illness
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MFA in Creative Nonfiction
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This work is restricted for 10 years from the date listed above. No access will be permitted until the embargo has expired. Once the embargo expires the work is available only on Goucher College's campus.
Abstract
This memoir is written in a conversational style from a sister to her brother who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. The story spans forty-four years focusing on the period between formal diagnosis in 1977 and the brother's death in 1994. Depicted are the progressive nature of the illness and the sister's intrapersonal conflicts as she struggles to support her mentally ill brother and the father who loves them both in his own way. The memoir was written for those with a limited understanding of schizophrenia's effects on individuals and their families.