Overcoming Schizophrenia

Author of Coping Takes Work "It seemed as if everybody was obsessed with me and everywhere, I went, somebody was watching. Every comment I made somebody was listening. Every step I took somebody was monitoring" (excerpt from Coping Takes Work, "Introduction" by Ashley Smith). I was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 20. Common symptoms of my condition include: severe suspicion and paranoia, seeing and hearing things that others do not, false beliefs, anxiety, and loss of reality, etc. Fortunately, my mental illness is manageable. I am a single-parent and still enjoy life despite living with mental health challenges. Support my mission to offer mental health awareness and purchase a copy of my book, Coping Takes Work from Amazon, click here.

I have a lot to say, however, I am hesitant to blog about it, because I am working on a couple of books. I will publish a collective piece with peers, and also publish my follow up book to What's On My Mind? later this year (2017). While I am excited to share my recovery journey I am frequently challenged by the ability to appropriately delegate my writings between the blog and book. My "Overcoming Schizophrenia" blog is still my healthy outlet and love... I appreciate all readers and strive to give my love to them forever through my self-expressive writings in order to relate, educate, and to further empower our growing recovery community and tight-knit recovery network; online and in-person. In fact, there have been many times when I got on my laptop to develop a blog entry on life lessons of my recovery, but chose not to complete it in order to convert it into a chapter in my book. Once, I valued my Bible more than anything...then it was my journal; like a safe...

My first book is here! My blog book, What's on My Mind? A Collection of Blog Entries from "Overcoming Schizophrenia," is my first book and is not my last! My book shares my personal recovery story with mental illness and offers hope and awareness. This book will be a great reading for anyone affected by mental illness and is available on Amazon for under $13.99 plus shipping. This is a great reading for individuals who are newly diagnosed with mental illness, family members, educators and students, providers, and others interested in learning about the lived experience. I hope you will continue to show your support and purchase my book.