Books conversations: Em and the Big Hoom & Sepia Leaves (mental health themed books)

I am considering both these books together because they deal with the same genre: mental illness; and also because I read them back to back.

Jerry Pinto, who made his mark with Surviving Women presents this tale of his mother who had mental illness.  From the colourful descriptions of her condition, it appears that she suffered from bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) - a kind of mood disorder characterised by mood swings from depression to mania.  It further appears that she had a particular type called rapidly cycling BPAD - mood swinging between the two extremes at a rapid speed, or perhaps a mixed affective state - both depressive and manic phases co-existing in one episode of the illness.  

In any case, it is mental illness, and as with all mental illnesses, there are a lot of idiosyncrasies and eccentricities to cope with.  The care-givers - her family, struggle through the various phases of her mood, often finding themselves at the receiving end of her abrasive behaviour.

Inevitably, the apathy, the casual attitude, and the sheer lack of appropriate services equipped to deal with mental illness is also presented, which highlight the poor state of mental healthcare in India.  

Even more inevitably, electro-convulsive therapy, that hugely misunderstood and often misrepresented mode of management is also held up to scrutiny, not least because of the way it was administered in her case - without the knowledge of the family.

It is worth mentioning here that when used in a controlled and monitored environment, under general anaesthesia, with muscle relaxation, and in the ECT suite, it remains the treatment of choice for conditions such as severe depression.

Nevertheless, Pinto's writing style is unusual, but engaging.  He presents the main character as she was, without any explanation as to her unusual behaviour, and without trying to glorify or vilify the travails that he and the other members of the family go through.

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Sepia Leaves by Amandeep Sandhu, once again considers the author's mother's mental illness - only this time it is schizophrenia.

He presents the signs and symptoms of the condition through the descriptions of his mother's emotional upheavals and behaviour.  Also brought out, simultaneously, is her strained relationship with her husband - the author's father - who, to ensure the upbringing of the author as a child, makes the cardinal error of bringing home a maid servant.  This is when the signs of his mother's illness really burst forth, with her heaping verbal and physical abuses on both her husband as well as the maid.

Suspicions, or paranoid-persecutory delusions, characteristic of schizophrenia, are evident in these descriptions, along with odd mannerisms and catatonic postures.  

A memorable sequence of the father's unexpected death and the lack of any substantial reaction to this by the mother is used as the beginning and as a recurring theme throughout the book.  These and other moments are narrated quite simply, unlike Em and the Big Hoom, but like it, without the need for any emotional over-involvement.

But then it is the content which matters here, and it is that you should look for in this work.

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Both these works are worth going for if you are interested in mental illness - as a professional, as a carer, or indeed as a service user.  Reading them, I hope, would also help reduce stigma associated with being mentally ill, and encourage people in distress to reach out. 

I also hope that ultimately, mental health themed literature such as these would help build mental resilience in patients and carers alike.  I have explored the theme of resilience in a similar narrative of multiple mental illnesses in a family in the book, Lake Amidst The Seas.

Please watch/share my patient education videos on these topics:

Depression: https://youtu.be/8cYwQANYAy4

Antidepressants: 
https://youtu.be/tKBWRvifYRk [English]
https://youtu.be/iVUi79gp-gQ [Hindi]
https://youtu.be/RezGamhA_Ak [Kannada]

Schizophrenia:
https://youtu.be/3US7KzMth54 [English]
https://youtu.be/kIVGOX_6zFY [Hindi]
https://youtu.be/ewpwJSq9qr4 [Kannada]





Image sources:
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