October 8, 2013
Hello,
We are looking for chapter authors for our book tentatively titled, Motherhood, Mental Illness and Recovery – Stories of Hope, to be published by Springer International Publishing. The book will include research and services information, as well as stories written by mothers with mental health histories reflecting on their parenting experiences. By including first-person accounts of mothers on issues such as stigma, fears and discrimination in the context of parenting with a mental illness, we hope the message of mental illness recovery can be delivered to a larger audience.
Mothers who write their stories will be given sole authorship, or first authorship of their chapter if they write with a co-editor. Potential authors have two options – they can write their story and get editing and content assistance by us (we will send an outline with suggested topics to be covered). Or they can be interviewed by one of our author/editors and have the interview recorded, transcribed and edited into a chapter. The interviewer can assist with the transcribing and editing in this case. We ask that each personal account be no longer than 5-10 pages, including any references (optional).
We also plan to include photographs of the mothers, or possibly their home environment, to portray the diversity of mothers with mental illness visually. We would be happy to talk more about this with those who are interested.
Your help is being solicited to identify mothers with mental illness who would like to share their stories, and also for interviewers/co-authors of these personal accounts. Please contact Nikole (nikole.bendershadi@omh.ny.gov) and Mary (mary.barber@omh.ny.gov) at your earliest convenience if you are interested. We hope you have an interest in joining us on this project; with your help we are sure it will be a well-received book!
Best wishes,
Nikole Benders-Hadi, MD Mary Barber, MD
Director of the Recovery Center
Medical Director, Orangeburg Service Center
Rockland Psychiatric Center