Rewriting the Narrative: Healing and Advocacy Through Storytelling

Please register on Eventbrite at Webinar Registration

Join us for a thought-provoking ISPS-US webinar featuring two remarkable authors, Sarah Fay, author of Pathological: The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses and Cured: A Memoir, and Tanya Frank, author of Zig-Zag Boy: A Memoir of Madness and Motherhood.

They've written books for two distinct yet interconnected reasons: as a form of healing and sense-making, and as a powerful advocacy for better systems.

Sarah Fay, an activist and author, penned Pathological, a gripping memoir that explores her life with six different psychiatric diagnoses over three decades. Beyond her personal story, Pathological delves into a critique of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), challenging the foundation of mental health diagnoses. Fay calls for a transparent and compassionate approach to mental health diagnosis. Sarah Fay's latest work, Cured: A Memoir offers hope by recounting her journey to full recovery from “serious mental illness.”

In Zig-Zag Boy, Tanya Frank shares her emotional journey as a mother coming to terms with her son's psychosis. Her story began in 2009 when her promising son, Zach, experienced a psychotic break. Tanya's struggle with shifting diagnoses and navigating outdated mental healthcare systems is a testament to a mother's love and resilience.

Moreover, we're excited to announce that Tanya Frank will be our lead instructor in our upcoming creative writing course designed for experiencers and family members. Join us for this enlightening webinar as we explore stories of resilience, advocacy, and the power of writing to change the narrative.

This event will run from 4-5:30pm Eastern time. Can't make it live? Don't worry a recording will be emailed to all those who register.

About the presenter(s)

Sarah Fay

Sarah Fay is an award-winning author, a certified mental health peer recovery specialist, and a sought-after keynote speaker. Her journalistic memoir Pathological: The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses (HarperCollins) was an Apple Best Books pick, hailed in The New York Times as a “fiery manifesto of a memoir,” and named by Parade Magazine as one of the sixteen best mental health memoirs to read. Her new memoir Cured, the sequel to Pathological, is a bestselling, Featured Publication on Substack through 2023. Her work has been featured on NPR, Oprah Daily, Salon, Forbes, The Los Angeles Times, and more. She writes for many publications, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, Time, and The Paris Review, where she was an advisory editor. Her essays have been chosen as a Notable Mention in Best American Essays and nominated for Pushcart Prizes. She’s the recipient of the Hopwood Award for Literature, as well as grants and fellowships from Yaddo, the Mellon Foundation, and the MacDowell Colony, among others. She’s currently on the creative writing faculty at Northwestern University.

Tanya Frank

Tanya gained her MFA in Creative NonFiction at the University of California, Riverside. Her debut book, ZIG ZAG BOY: MOTHERHOOD, MADNESS & LETTING GO (Spring 2023) WW Norton USA/Harper Collins UK was an editors pick in the New York Times Review of Books. Tanya currently lives in London where she teaches and mentors writers with lived experience of psychosis. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The New York Times, The Washington Post and in various literary journals. She is the recipient of a 2022 DYCP award from the Arts Council England.