Book Review: Mind Estranged by Bethany Yeiser

I recently read Bethany Yeiser’s Mind Estranged: My Journey from Schizophrenia and Homelessness to Recovery. The book recounts the events leading up to the onset of a psychotic episode that would last for four years. During that time, Bethany remained homeless and estranged from her parents.

We first follow Bethany in her college years. She excelled academically, authoring publications and engaging in extracurricular projects - working at a postgraduate level. She also engaged in aid work in Kenya. It is at this point that she finds herself confronted with extreme poverty and suffering, experiences that are described as traumatising. Bethany begins to reflect on these experiences, and it is at this point that we learn about the subtle changes in her thinking that occurred alongside - which likely represent the start of the prodromal phase of her illness. Bethany then goes on to describe her return to college and what read as cognitive changes that affect her academic performance. Alongside this, she becomes convinced that her academic pursuits are of growing insignicance in comparison to more domineering ideas of philanthropy, ideas that border on obsession. This leads Bethany to plan a trip to Asia of which her parents and friends disapprove. She ultimately decides to travel regardless, as more pronounced delusional ideas take hold. Not long after her return, Bethany realises herself as homeless and spends time in, in an unofficial capacity, her college campus and the nearby church. Her symptoms worsen, and she finds herself in regular contact with campus security and the police. She does not consider herself like other homeless people, choosing not to beg for food or money. She prefers instead to find her food where she can. She progressively detaches from reality, developing the belief that a saviour figure will enter her life and enable a life of charitable giving. When she is finally directed to a psychiatric hospital, she is quickly diagnosed with schizophrenia and her parents are contacted. This point in the book marks her journey toward recovery.

Shame, pride, empathy, and altruism are core themes in this book. Bethany writes with honesty and a reflective clarity. Her experiences are clearly outlined, as is her reasoning. Readers find themselves confronting the themes that the book wrestles with, such as how the homeless are perceived, how the mentally ill are perceived, and how easy it is for unwell people to fall through the cracks, largely unnoticed, until a significant event acts as the catalyst for change: much needed support. It is clear that Bethany feels deeply for the people she was helping and encountering in the course of her aid work, so deeply that they became a preoccupation that evolved into a delusion. Another core theme that the book does a fine job of exploring is the role of social support. Bethany makes regular reference to other people who offer support, whether with her fundraising work or ensuring that she has something to eat and somewhere to stay. Social support is vital when it comes to recovery from serious mental illness, and Bethany makes a moving case for it at several points in the book.

I don’t intend to do the book justice in this short review, but I do want to recommend it to anyone with an interest in mental health memoir. Bethany’s story is astonishing and inspiring. I also direct you to the great work she does as founder of the Curesz Foundation, with Dr Henry Nasrallah. I couldn’t put the book down and read it in a day. If you have some time soon, please check out Mind Estranged: My Journey from Schizophrenia and Homelessness to Recovery.