The Family – An Anthology of Psychosis

My name is Sarah and I have bipolar with psychosis.

Once upon a time I was a nurse, after earning a first-class nursing degree and graduating top of my class. I went on to receive a scholarship to study autism at doctoral level. I’ve been in and out of hospital my whole adult life, plagued by The Family. The Family is a group of people that live in an alternate universe. In a place full of demons. I hear them talking to me and talking between themselves. This anthology is our story.

“The therapeutic outlet of poetry and art is poignantly depicted in Dr Sarah Mackay’s courageous journey with psychosis. Sarah’s anthology touches me as a book that will strike a chord and reach out to those who have experienced that deep, intense struggle with mental ill-health and darkness, as well as light.”

– Emma Sims, Author, ‘Self-Care for Givers and the Helping Professions’

“We hope this book will help others who might be struggling with voices, visions or other unusual experiences, find reassurance and hope and find their own window in which to explore their experiences, find some of the meaning linked to those experiences and discover new ways to accept and live with their own equivalent to The Family.” 

– Caroline David and Tony Scannell, PSI Nurse Specialists, NHS Trust Community Mental Health Team and Facilitators, Wrexham Hearing Voices Group.