Loud in the House of Myself - Stacy Pershall

[damask]

Loud in the House of Myself: Memoir of a Strange Girl Author: Stacy Pershall Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (January 23, 2012) Paperback: 240 pages ISBN-10: 0393340791 ISBN-13: 978-0393340792

I have just finished reading this book, it is a memoir by a woman suffering from borderline personality disorder, among other things.  She suffers from eating disorders, started with anorexia, which became more of a bulimia issue, she is also bipolar.  It details her struggles through her childhood in mid-America, a small town in Arkansas, where she is a very different bird from those around her, aside from her mental illness struggles.  She talks about how she felt she didn't fit in, struggles with relationships with her family and schoolmates, and various boyfriends.  She tries to commit suicide more than once.  

But she does begin to come out the other side, and finds DBT and tattoo her main helpmates on the road to recovery.  She has a strong desire to get help for herself, and that starts her down the road to true recovery.

I found this book to be quite involving, as the trauma and drama of her life unfold.  It is not, perhaps, as well written as "The Buddha and the Borderline", but she keeps you caring and wanting to find out how she pulls through.  I definitely would recommend it, as I feel it gives one a perspective as to what it's like to be in the skin of a borderline person, a help to those of us living with others who have this illness.

[Stacy Pershall]

I'm Stacy Pershall, author of Loud in the House of Myself. (No "living" at the beginning of the title, but thank you very much, damask, for mentioning it!)  It was published by W.W. Norton last month and was one of 14 books chosen by Barnes and Noble for their winter 2011 Discover Great New Writers program.  It received excellent reviews in Publishers Weekly and Booklist, and I'd be honored to have it reviewed by other members here, as it's still slowly finding its way into the BPD community.  I've also just written a guest post for Randi Kreger's Psychology Today blog (thank you, Randi, for the opportunity!) and hope you'll all take the time to read it when it's posted.  It's about the need for DBT "refresher courses" post-treatment.

Here's my Amazon link: www.amazon.com/Loud-House-Myself-Memoir-Strange/dp/0393066924/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1301413040&sr=1-1

And another to the B&N Discover books, which are 20% off through April, both online and in stores: www.barnesandnoble.com/u/discover-seasonal-books/379001112/

And last but not least, the Goodreads reviews: www.goodreads.com/book/show/8662826-loud-in-the-house-of-myself

Thanks, and it's lovely to meet you all!  I hope some of you will come out for my book tour in April.  :)ates and cities are at www.stacypershall.com -- I would very much like to meet you in person and hear your stories!

[bpdfamfan]

I'm Stacy Pershall, author of Loud in the House of Myself. ... .

thanks for posting!  looking forward to reading your book! 

[damask]

Apologies for the book title booboo, Stacy!  I was so struck by your spirit, and although I am not borderline, my husband is, I too was quite "different" while growing up.  So your book resonated with me on many levels.  And I loved how you used tatoo art to actualize some of the internal pain you felt, to kind of translate it, wear it.

Again, although my problem is not the same, I have struggled all my life to find my balance in my own body/mind/soul - whatever.  It is a brave thing to share it as you did, and I hope for many borderlines and "nons" who share life with a borderline, (or eating disorder, or bipolar!) find and read your words.

[Stacy Pershall]

I just wanted to stop by and share a few more Loud in the House of Myself-related links, for anyone who may be curious:

Martha Stewart's Whole Living Magazine: www.wholelivingdaily.wholeliving.com/2011/04/book-recommendation-loud-in-the-house-of-myself.html

National Pubic Radio interview: www.publicbroadcasting.net/wyso/.artsmain/article/5/25/1764931/Books/Book.Nook.Loud.in.the.House.of.Myself.-.Memoir.of.a.Strange.Girl... by.Stacy.Pershall

Psych Central interview: www.blogs.psychcentral.com/dbt/2011/04/loud-in-the-house-of-myself-an-interview-with-author-stacy-pershall/

KNews Conversations interview: www.podcasts.sixradiosites.com/knews/audio/kc031711.mp3

Seventeen Magazine: www.seventeen.com/health/peace/eating-disorder-book-by-Stacy-Pershall

BUST Magazine: www.rittlit.com/stacy-gets-bust-ed/

Hipster Book Club review: www.hipsterbookclub.com/reviews/copy/0211/loud_in_the_house_of_myself_stacy_pershall.html

Pickled Pru review: www.pickledpru.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/stacy-pershalls-memoir-incredibly-brave-and-funny/

The Literary Wife review: www.literarywife.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/book-review-loud-in-the-house-of-myself/

The Broke and the Bookish review: www.brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/2011/02/jamies-review-of-loud-in-house-of.html

And I have word from the book reviewer for Jackson Free Press, the alternative weekly in Jackson, MS, that it's getting a 5-star (out of 5!) review in an upcoming issue.  Yay!