I’m excited to share with you that I will be starting my journey in writing a serious, nonfiction book on BPD about remission and the quest for recovery. Despite the news that remission is possible for those living with BPD, recovery, on the other hand, is still elusive. What is causing this great divide? How can we learn to close this gap? Where am I on the recovery scale? I’ve decided to take on the challenge of these questions and find out.

What, Me Write a Book?
A few weeks after the Golden Gloves I was on a advocacy trip with a well-respected DBT therapist and researcher. As we awaited our appointment we talked about what was needed in the community. She told me her clients needed hope. She told me that she, as a therapist, needed hope. She wanted something she could go back to over and over again and say,

See, here’s the hope, right here. It’s possible. In the throes of our struggles people need to know that others have made it, that the hard work paid off.

She said I should write that book.

It has been my contention that people who have struggled offer so much to our community and to ourselves — more than we ever imagined. Recovery, to me, is about being remarkable and I believe we need to share the stories of people leading these types of lives — even with all the suffering, struggles and hardship that comes with mental illness. Through the experience and knowledge of experts, researchers, clinicians and those living with BPD themselves, I’m determined to share with you (and understand for myself) what it takes to lead a life in recovery.

More Than Just a Book, a Journey
I’ll be melding two things that I deeply love together for this project: writing and film. I still have to iron out the details and logistics, but as I begin to research and discover more about the project, you’ll be there too on the journey as I interview experts, researchers, clinicians and those living with BPD in a documentary film setting. You’ll be learning as I learn and help contribute to the book with comments, analysis and leads. They say it takes a village to raise a child but perhaps it takes a community like ours to write a book!

And That’s Where You Come In. Want to Help?
The first stage of crafting a book is writing the book proposal and doing the research. I’ll be taking care of the book proposal but am looking to your expertise to help gather research. Do you have something to say? Do you know the experts in BPD remission and recovery? Do you know patients or former patients leading remarkable lives? Are you in recovery? How did you do it? How can others get there?

If you could help answer these questions in any way possible or offer other kinds of support, please feel free to email me at amanda(at)rethinkbpd.com. Oh, and don’t forget to share this project with your friends and colleagues too!

So What Do You Think?
Is recovery as elusive as the research suggests? Do you think there is a need for a book like this? What’s important to you that you would want to learn from the book? Feel free to write in the comment section below. I’m looking forward to hearing from you and starting this journey together!