A diagnosis of bipolar disorder does not mean that your life is out of your hands. Max, who has been living with bipolar for sixteen years, and Kathy, his mother, will dispute three harmful myths that can interfere with recovery. They will illustrate through their own experience that full recovery is possible, that individuals are in control of their own recovery, and that it is worth the risk to speak openly about one’s illness. They will explain how they developed their own strategies for navigating healthcare while creating space for personal choices.
Kathy and Max are the authors of Walks on the Margins: A Story of Bipolar Illness. The book aims to put a face on mental illness and tells of their struggle and recovery after Max was diagnosed with bipolar in 1999.You can contact them on their websites: www.KathyBrandtAuthor.com and www.MaxMaddox.net
“Novelist Kathy Brandt and her son, Max, take readers on a terrifying journey through our nation’s broken, overwhelmed, underfunded, and frustrating mental health care system. Walks on the Margins will make you angry. It will make you cry. It will also inspire you!” Pete Earley, journalist and author of CRAZY: A Father’s Journey Though America’s Mental Health Madness.
Walks on the Margins received the EVVY Book Award from the Colorado Independent Publishers Association, the Golden Quill from the Pikes Peak Library Association, and was a finalist for both the Iowa Review Award and the Kindle Book Award. Kathy is the former president of NAMI-Colorado Spring and was the recipient of the 2012 NAMI Outstanding Member Award for her service on behalf of those with mental illness and their families. Max is a certified NAMI “In Our Own Voices” speaker. Kathy and Max speak openly and honestly about their journeys from illness to recovery. They have been interviewed on national radio and TV and for newspaper and magazine articles. Kathy has a B.A.and M.A.and taught writing at the University of Colorado until becoming a full-time writer and speaker. Max has a B.A.and MFA, is a full time artist and part-time teacher.