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

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.