By Marvin Ross

Since 2008, I’ve been publishing books mostly on schizophrenia via my company Bridgeross Communications. The current titles can be found on the books page on this blog and I’m pleased to say that they have been well received by readers and reviewers and are still selling. I had no intention of publishing anymore but circumstances changed and I’m pleased to announce that three new books are coming this Spring. Allow me to introduce them to you:
What’s So Funny? The Autobiography of a Professional Schizophrenian, Artist, Public Speaker and Singer
Jude Mersereau, the author, I have known for a number of years as we live in the same city where she is an amazing artist. She was one of three artists with schizophrenia that were the subjects of a documentary film that Dr Dawson and I did of the art program she was involved with. This is the trailer for that film which does feature Jude who is also the singer along with her husband, George on guitar.
The book features a lot of her art in colour. Those who have read the draft are very impressed. Sandra Yuen Mackay who wrote My Schizophrenic Life which I published said:
“Schizophrenian Judy Mersereau writes with humour, poetic cleverness and lively originality. The book is beautifully illustrated with her art. The telling of her story winds and weaves with elements of joy in her memories. An entertaining read, written with honesty and insight, demonstrates Judy’s example of a full life despite diagnosis. She found ways to cope and give through her music, art and writing.”
Sandra is the recipient of the Courage to Come Back Award given by Vancouver’s Coastal Health and was named one of the five faces of mental illness in Canada to promote understanding of mental illness.
Kathy Mochnacki, chair of the board of Home on the Hill Supportive Housing commented that:
“Jude is a master at using literary tools. Her play on words can cause involuntary outbursts of laughter. But most striking is her use of juxtaposition which jars us into thinking from her perception of the world. Her artwork is original and enigmatic and is showcased throughout.”
Jude has spoken at Home on the Hill and she and her husband have performed for them.
When Neurons Tell Stories: A Layman’s Guide to the Neuroscience of Mental Illness and Health
By Erin Emiru (nee Hawkes) who is the author of When Quietness Came: A Neuroscientist’s Personal Journey with Schizophrenia. As the title of her first book states, Erin has schizophrenia and is a neuroscientist. She became ill while an undergraduate but managed to go on to complete a masters in neuroscience at the University of British Columbia and enrol in their PhD program while sick.
She managed to be the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and scholarships, including two Natural Science and Engineering Research Council’s (NSERC) grants and a Michael Smith award. Her papers were published in a variety of academic peer-reviewed journals in conjunction with her supervisors, colleagues, and fellow students. For several years, she attended and presented research at the massive (35,000+ attendees) Society for Neuroscience conferences.
It took years for Erin to find a medication that helped and, until then, had numerous forced hospitalizations where she was transported to hospital restrained by police. She has written a number of articles on how forced treatment saved her life. Unfortunately, Erin was not able to continue with her doctorate or to continue working in a neuroscience lab so became a peer support worker in addition to her many lectures to nurses, doctors and others on schizophrenia.
Her book takes you on a tour of the neuroscience of schizophrenia and other related topics. The subjects who will bring this neuroscience to life are her clients who experience mental health and addiction challenges. Their stories form the backbone of this book. She also describes her role as a peer support and how peer support should be done as part of a treatment team.
Her book will be an antidote to all the anti-psychiatry types who deny the existence of serious mental illness. Her definition of what recovery should be will be very enlightening. As a companion to that book is
Anti-psychiatry and the UN Assault on the Mentally Ill
This is my own foray back into book writing since my Schizophrenia Medicine’s Mystery Society’s Shame in 2008.
The book is an evidence based refutation of all the dribble spouted by the anti-psychiatry crowd which is becoming more entrenched. In my blog after the US election, I mentioned that I put anti-psychiatry in there with the anti-mask, anti-vax, alternative medicine proponents who are becoming more and more prevalent. Thanks to my friend Dr John Gray in Victoria, one of Canada’s leading experts in mental health legislation, I learned of their role with the UN.
This volume exposes the danger of the anti-psychiatry beliefs and their infiltration into the UN and that body’s Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons. Many countries have signed on although a few like Canada and Australia refused to ratify the odious terms for psychiatry. The US has not signed but there is every indication that the Biden Presidency will sign it all.
This book and Erin’s book will provide the ammunition you need to counter anti-psychiatry’s arguments.
I will let everyone know when the books will become available and they will be available internationally in print and in e-book formats.