Description

By Stephanie Aylmer

ISBN: 978-1-84991-988-3
Published: 2013
Pages: 122
Key Themes: Mental Health, Autobiography, Recovery, Psychosis, Trauma, Post Traumatic Psychosis

Description

My autobiography, Its my party, I will cry if I want to, is a personal account of trauma, mental illness, treatment and recovery. The story starts with me, aged 13, when I was brutally raped at an adventure weekend. It follows with my experience of emergency medical and police intervention, which failed to reach a conviction, solely because I became too unwell to give evidence and attend a trial. This lack of resolution and injustice left me with a severe case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which quickly developed into Psychotic illness. I describe how the trauma I suffered turned my world into turmoil and how I was affected, and in particular, my mental health. A number of evocative scenes describe in detail my battle with self-harm and also delves into my mind during severe psychotic episodes, including one which lead to me being detained in Police custody for my own safety. The story follows me through school, through my GCSEs and A levels, through my undergraduate degree at university, through four psychiatric inpatient admissions and through my continued treatment within the community. My battle against mental illness is explored and my experiences as a mental health service user, many of which failed me, are highlighted. Intertwined with my own story are my interpretations of the stories of other mad campers who I met along my journey with mental illness. Between the horrors of my experiences are flashes of humour, happiness and hope. The story ends with me, aged 21, at the celebration of my birthday: an occasion I, and others, thought wed never see.

About the Author

Born in Devon in 1987, Stephanie grew up in a small rural town with her two sisters. She attended her local Primary and Secondary schools and in 2005 embarked on a degree in Psychology at The University of Plymouth. On completion of her degree she followed a passion for English and Writing by enrolling on a Creative Writing Masters Programme at the same University, graduating with Merit. The influences behind her writing stem from personal experience, in particular the repercussions of childhood trauma and mental illness. She hopes to inspire and give hope to sufferers and survivors by telling her own story of triumph. She continues to live and write in Devon, having recently married her childhood sweetheart.