My world fell apart when I lost my son, and then three years later, my mother. Both losses were sudden and horrific. I became seriously depressed and no one was able to help.
No one realized at the time that besides depression, I also suffered from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Years later, I received a diagnosis of bipolar II disorder, which I now know runs in my family. The illness kept the usual methods of treating depression from working for me. It also took years before a counsellor correctly diagnosed me as having PTSD.
Linda Biasotto, author of Sweet Life
Because I had a mental illness, I became curious about psychological behaviours and read clinical and autobiographical works with those themes. I connected in a very personal way to stories about misfits and was fascinated by the mysteries of human behaviour. So many people are misunderstood and unappreciated because of problems they can’t avoid, such as having depressive episodes.
During my slow recovery, I turned to writing short stories. I’d always been an avid reader, and the writing allowed me to explore creatively. The end result of several years in skill building was my first book, Sweet Life, which is a collection of 13 short stories.
During times of depression in my life, I didn’t even realize what was happening to me. I came to realize that I’d done a lot of pretending outside my home in order to appear constantly upbeat. I believe that’s why pretense as a survival technique is a repeated theme in my book. I also wrote stories about suicide, depression and PTSD. All are huge issues, but ones people tend to avoid discussing.
Not only have I included stories about the lonely and disenfranchised, but also about schemers and, yes, the mentally ill, although I do wonder, sometimes, about the thin lines dividing madness and sanity and merely making mistakes. In my stories, I sought to link dramatic events with personal consequences. I didn’t forget to include wry humour in my stories.
Why wasn’t I afraid to revisit, for me, some frightening memories? I have no answer to that except that I felt compelled to keep at it, to not give up and not give in. I believe we need to tell stories that matter to us, because we all matter.
Sweet Life can be purchased from its publisher, Coteau Books, and from the author. Copies can be ordered through Chapters and McNally Robinson Booksellers. The book is available from SK Books, Sask Books, online dealers and in digital format.
