A Memoir of Food and Feelings
A personal message from the author:
“Don’t Be Weird chronicles my personal journey grappling with anorexia, depression, anxiety, and the unpredictability of the treatment world.
From the cold, hard realities of “Food Jail” to the backseat of a patrol car (actually, got handcuffed three times) and everything in-between, each stigma-bashing chapter is a layered narrative that illuminates questions of self-worth, identity, and self-love that impact us all, regardless of a diagnosis. With a heavy dose of existential mirth, I dive headfirst into the complexities of mental illness in order to shine a light on the possibility of recovery.
I started writing this to explain to my friends and family the true mental, physical, and emotional havoc my anorexia and depression wreaked on my life. I nearly died from organ failure, lost friends, and contemplated suicide on a daily basis. Writing enabled me to call out my own shit, my family’s shit, and society’s shit, leading me to realize that my words were not just for my immediate circle, but for everyone who has a misunderstanding of the complexities of mental illness.”
— Bronwen Clark
In this brutally honest memoir, Bronwen Clark shares what it’s like to grapple with anorexia, depression, anxiety, and the unpredictability of the treatment world. With insights as sharp as her humor, she weaves a layered narrative that illuminates questions of self-worth, identity, and self-love that impact us all, regardless of a diagnosis.
From the cold, hard realities of “Food Jail” to the backseat of a patrol car and everything in-between, Clark leverages her own struggle to reclaim her life with a strong dose of existential mirth, diving headfirst into the complexities of mental illness in order to shine a light on the possibility of recovery. With this deeply personal book, Clark reaches out to all who have, or have had, a mental illness, baring all in order to provide a voice to those who suffer in silence.
Each chapter seeks to debunk the stigma of mental illness and illuminate the true mental, physical, and emotional havoc it wreaks in the lives of many. Don’t Be Weird is a memoir of ballsy candor, introspection, and wisdom that explores questions many of us are afraid to ask, let alone answer, about what it really means to be a mentally fit person in this modern and unbalanced world.