Miracles, Moons, and Madness

Miracles, Moons, and Madness is a narrative account of the debilitating impact of mental illness on one’s daily functioning, especially if it goes either unrecognized or poorly treated. S. C. Ryder recounted her firsthand experience from living with the love of her life, who initially did not recognize he had bipolar disorder. When he eventually recognized that he had a problem, getting treatment proved to be quite a challenge, given that he had to also battle his family’s denial of the illness. According to the World Health Organization Global Observatory data, in 2014, 45% of the world’s population lived in a country where there was less than one psychiatrist to serve 100,000 people, as is reflected in this story. Reading through the book, I found myself using my mind’s eye to visualize my patients in their day-to-day lives. S. C. Ryder provides an insider perspective that we as mental health providers do not see, given the brevity of our patient’s clinic or home visits and follow-up visits that are spaced far apart. The 105-page story starts out rather slow but becomes a quick read, and I recommend it to all mental health providers.