Last class was our second meeting of the semester, and I am happy to report that I don’t feel overwhelmed yet! Which is super awesome.
At the moment, what’s even more awesome is that I FINALLY conquered this website-SHOUT OUT to Christina for the help! I went home from class excited to make it my own, and damn right I did! I am irrationally proud of my product.
Anyway….
….this week I was tasked with beginning to culminate research, hence some very necessary Ryan Gossling support! I ❤ a good “Hey, Girl” and have a few driving questions to kick me off. My plan is to explore:
- writing autobiographical through disorders
- research on OCD-ie The Worry Trick by David A. Carbonell is LIFE
- writing through and writing with a disability
- the distinction between a disability and a disorder (and which is the preferred term)
- manic episodes in conjunction with bipolar disorder
- the stigma around medication
- writing in verse-how to say a lot when writing a little-Jason Reynolds. I see you
…to name a few!
As I started my research I came across a few interesting sites I plan to explore further:
- Insightful Memoirs About Mental Illness
- Here, is a list of 14 memoirs about mental illness and addiction. The author, Rachel Steinman, who begins the list by discussing her purpose: to write her grandfather’s story of mental illness, and found that despite studying the craft of writing and many writing classes, her best lessons came from memoirs themselves. This post led me to two memoirs I immediately reserved from the library, which I’ll talk about more later.
- A Case for Mental Health Memoir
- This article is both review of Gorilla and the Bird by Zack McDermott and discussion surrounding the literary cannon of the mental health memoir, plus the way this memoir is a better means of connecting, then say Facebook. The author, Charlotte Lieberman, writes: “While mental health memoirs are not as digestible as Facebook posts or tweets, they provide an alternative framework for what sharing can look like. They suggest a vocabulary for talking about mental illness and other life challenges—the stuff most of us aren’t inclined to share in a dogged attempt to rack up likes—that is both honest and destigmatizing.”
- “They suggest a vocabulary”-I guess it’s my turn to find my vocabulary!
- This article is both review of Gorilla and the Bird by Zack McDermott and discussion surrounding the literary cannon of the mental health memoir, plus the way this memoir is a better means of connecting, then say Facebook. The author, Charlotte Lieberman, writes: “While mental health memoirs are not as digestible as Facebook posts or tweets, they provide an alternative framework for what sharing can look like. They suggest a vocabulary for talking about mental illness and other life challenges—the stuff most of us aren’t inclined to share in a dogged attempt to rack up likes—that is both honest and destigmatizing.”
- Body Language, Illness, Disability, and Life Writing
- This article details a history of the autobiographical writing in relation to illness and disability. But probably the most interesting thing the author brings up is the difference between illness and disability (see my above plan to explore the difference between ‘disability’ and ‘disorder’). The clarification is this: ‘illness’ is a medical term, one that requires medical intervention. where ‘disability’ often does not, and is more of a social construct. But then there’s impairment as well-“a dysfunction in the body, which may be amenable to cure, rehabilitation, or prosthetic modification”.
- My thoughts? Who the hell knows. I live with OCD and consider my therapist a “medical intervention”, but then is this not a disability? And does that make me happy to hear? What’s the stigma there? But then if ‘disability’ is a social construct-wouldn’t society claim OCD is a disability?
- At the same time, later on the article talks about how these are all interwoven within each other, and therefore all susceptible to social construction.
- This article details a history of the autobiographical writing in relation to illness and disability. But probably the most interesting thing the author brings up is the difference between illness and disability (see my above plan to explore the difference between ‘disability’ and ‘disorder’). The clarification is this: ‘illness’ is a medical term, one that requires medical intervention. where ‘disability’ often does not, and is more of a social construct. But then there’s impairment as well-“a dysfunction in the body, which may be amenable to cure, rehabilitation, or prosthetic modification”.
Well, that’s it for now! My brain hurts.
xoxo
M.B.
M.B. Thesis [Work of Art] 