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What Have I Done?: Motherhood, Mental Illness & Me
Current price:
$17.95
Publication Date: August 1st, 2021
Publisher:
Vintage
ISBN:
9781529112542
Pages:
352
Description
Like any new mother, Laura Dockrill felt rather overwhelmed after the birth of her son. But a slow recovery, sleep deprivation, and anxiety quickly escalated into postpartum psychosis, and she had to spend a fortnight in a psych ward, separated from her family. It was only when Laura began to put her ordeal into words that she began to find herself again, and recovery seemed within reach. This is Laura's raw, honest, and life-affirming story of how she made it through one of the most frightening experiences a mother can face. Now, she wants to break down the silence around postnatal mental health, shatter the idealized expectations of perfect motherhood, and show all new struggling parents that they are not alone.
Praise for What Have I Done?: Motherhood, Mental Illness & Me
"I saw the end of the world in her eyes. I knew she was in there somewhere but she was being held prisoner by her mind and we were all helpless to it. Sometimes things happen to us which means we can save other people, my own experience with mental health helped save her and now here she is about to save a whole generation of women!" —Adele, singer
"What Have I Done? is heartbreaking and brutal in its honesty, and it is remarkable that Dockrill has managed to wring black comedy out of so much suffering… [the book] offer[s] a hand of solidarity to other women, as well as the assurance that there is a way through." —Observer
"A humblingly honest and human war report from the front lines of mothering, psychosis and recovery: there is no other book like it, and it is so desperately needed." —Giovanna Fletcher, author, Eve of Man
"A pleasure to read...I didn't want to put it down. If anyone is going through a similar experience it will make them feel less alone" —Philippa Perry, author, The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read
'A humbingly honest and human war report from the front lines of mothering psychosis and recovery; there is no other book like it' —Caitlin Moran
'An incredibly powerful book' —Jessie Ware, singer and author, Table Manners: The Cookbook
'This book will give women and their families confidence that the brain and body will heal' —Dr Jessica Heron, CEO of Action on Postpartum Psychosis
'An amazing read' —Fiona Telford, postpartum psychosis survivor
"Raw, powerful, visceral: this book has so much to offer to anyone who reads it, whether they be a pregnant woman, new mother, partner, midwife, or someone recovering from mental illness. It is so important on so many levels to hear experiences like Laura’s to widen our understanding of these issues and how they can affect us." —Isabelle Bourton, midwife
"This book will bring hope to many women and their partners who have struggled with their mental health during this already nerve-wracking and overwhelming time." —Becca Maberly, @AMotherPlace