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by Jude Mersereau (Author)
Jude began experiencing her illness at the rather young of 16 but despite some difficult early years, she has been relapse free for over 25 years. Her success in dealing with her illness she attributes to faithfully complying with her medication and listening to her doctors and counsellors. She and her husband, George who also has chronic schizophrenia, have been married for 33 years. Together, they have a daughter who is now in her early 30s and two young grandchildren of 7 and 5.
As a self described terminal optimist, Jude has become a successful artist, singer, and public speaker. How she accomplished this when many people with schizophrenia have less success is the subject of her book with many examples of her art work in color.
"Jude's writing reflects a triumph of the human spirit over the insidious and poorly understood disease of schizophrenia. This book's major achievement is its power to connect. Our understanding of this illness is transformed as we begin to see people with schizophrenia not as "poor me" people but as people who are bravely confronting and coming to terms with their illness in a society that still desperately lacks insight. This book needs to be required reading for those who genuinely want to make a difference."
