Author of My Schizophrenic Life Named A 2012 Face of Mental Illness - Her Second Award

Aug. 15, 2012 - PRLog -- The Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) announced the five Canadians selected for the 10th annual Faces of Mental Illness campaign on August 14th. Dr. Karen Cohen, Chair of Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) 2012 said "this year's Faces represent courage, strength, and resilience, and we are grateful to them for allowing their personal stories of recovery and triumph to inspire millions."

" By sharing their stories in such a public way, letting us know what's worked and what hasn't worked so well on their journeys of recovery, these five people help significantly to advance the mental health agenda for Canada", Dr Cohen added.

Earlier this year, Sandra was named as the 2012 Courage To Come Back Award winner for Mental Health in British Columbia.

Sandra's struggles with schizophrenia began in her teens and resulted in numerous hospitalizations over the years. However, she managed to complete a fine arts program at Langara College and then an art history degree at the University of British Columbia. She married in 1994 and began sharing her experience with others by public speaking and in radio and TV interviews about her life as described in her memoir, My Schizophrenic Life: The Road to Recovery From Mental illness published by Bridgeross Communications in 2010.

Sandra's book has received praise throughout North America. Library Journal called the book "remarkably compelling.....will hold readers captive.....provides a surprisingly gripping narrative" and compared her to Kay Redfield Jamison's An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness,

New York psychiatrist, Julie Holland, the author of Weekends at Bellevue: Nine Years on the Night Shift at the Psych ER said "Sandra MacKay's story is an important one for all of us in the mental health field --doctors, patients, and their families. It is imperative that we take in the lessons she is imparting to us all, on how to manage, and in many ways, triumph, over chronic mental illness."

Occupational therapist, Paulette Guitard, in her review in the June 2011 issue of the Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy  said  "I recommend this book to students, novice therapists, clients and care givers as it not only helps us understand.....but also because it is inspirational and fosters some hope for recovery".

My Schizophrenic Life is recommended by the National Alliance On Mental Illness in the US and The Mood Disorders Association of Canada. In a review on Psych Central, a popular psychiatric website, the reviewer concluded Sandra's book "was a brilliant and inspiring read.  MacKay makes the reader believe that if she can recover from mental illness, anyone can.  Reading this book gave me a sense of hope, as well as opened my mind to a new understanding of a misunderstood illness.  I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what it’s like to have schizophrenia or who just wants to enjoy an inspiring story of great personal recovery." See http://psychcentral.com/lib/2010/my-schizophrenic-life-th... for details.

The other faces are:
Alicia Raimundo  A motivational speaker who works with many charities from Pickering, Ontario.
Dustin Garron   A student and creator of The Mental Health Project from Renfrew, Ontario.
Laurie Pinard  A former government employee who now teaches the benefits of fitness for mental wellness, from Ottawa, Ontario.
Chantal Poitras  A volunteer with the Canadian Mental Health Association from Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Bridgeross Communications congratulates all five of the recipients and  is pleased that My Schizophrenic Life, Sandra Yuen MacKay and all the recipients will help to improve the understanding of serious mental illness.

Sandra is the second Bridgeross author to be named the recipient of an award for helping to promote better understanding of serious mental illness. Dr Carolyn Dobbins, a psychotherapist in Knoxville, Tennessee and the author of What A Life Can Be: One Therapist's Take on Schizo-Affective Disorder received a Spirit of the ADA award in July from the Disability Resource Center for inspiring others. See http://www.prlog.org/11943089-knoxville-author-with-schiz...

Both books are available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Chapters/Indigo and on Kindle, Nook and Kobo. Bridgeross books are distributed by Ingram.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbMGPh3Zv7o