Isabella Mori has written a rare, deeply human, and well-researched book. They do a masterful job of integrating the language of both art and science, including the latest psychological science on various mental health problems. Mori compassionately takes the reader through individual stories of human suffering and healing. Their personal and professional experience with mental health offers a realistic hope for better understanding and mitigating the impact of mental health problems. Believe Me is a must read for all persons, including mental health practitioners, as no one is immune to sufferings of the mind.
Ingrid Söchting, PhD
Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia
The author and story-evoker has created a unique piece of writing that leads with the individuals' experience through their own voice, then brings in research and integrates the two. Magnificent! Every chapter is a page turner. A unique approach and refreshing read, at times personally evoking many feelings, given my own life experiences.
Paul W. Gallant, CHE
Strategic Consultant, BC Centre for Disease Control, retired
Combining creative writing, interviews of people with lived experience and thorough research, Isabella Mori's Believe Me is an illuminating examination of the intricacies of mental illness and substance use. With powerful quotes from interviewees ("I want to be so full of hope that there is no room for doubt"), this is a decidedly welcome addition to the array of books exploring the facets of mental illness and substance use.
Victoria Maxwell
Mental Health Speaker, Performer, and Strategic Advisor
for British Columbia Mental Health and Substance Use Services
As a therapist with many years' experience, and as an established writer and poet, Isabella Mori is perfectly placed to write about poetry, prose, and science.
Each chapter of this book begins with a piece of their own writing, followed by an interview with a reader's interpretation of the poem/prose, then concludes with research which links to the complex mental health themes that emerge.
Despite the darkness of many of the topics - depression, suicidality, addiction, stigma, intimate partner violence - Mori's light and tender touch is felt on each page, linking the authentic and subjective 'true self' with the relative objectivity of research and flowing seamlessly from one realm to
the next.
This is only made possible by the author's skillful use of metaphor, together with her own erudite scope of knowledge (Latin etymology, Virgil, Perceval, Bateson, and Alice Cooper all make an appearance) enabling the language of autobiography, poetry, myth, and metaphor to intricately intertwine with the firm and clear language of science throughout the book.
This book will be of interest to anyone with an interest in mental health and personal and relational narratives.
"The deeper we go, the more we learn" and readers who delve into this magical book will emerge from it wiser and more reflective.
Dr. Annie Hickox
Clinical Psychologist/Clinical Neuropsychologist
dranniehickox.co.uk
