“The urge to tell and its consequences”: women’s memoirs of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to explore the efforts of four American women living with psychosis to chart their recovery process in published memoirs. Design/methodology/approach This paper looks at the different types of stigma that the patient-authors claim to encounter. Findings The author discusses the impact that the patient-authors see stigma as having on their recovery, and why they need artistic spaces to express themselves. Originality/value The memoirs offer a space for the women to revisit their memories of psychosis, and to achieve at least a partial acceptance of these experiences.