Living with a mental health disorder is often associated with the idea of being "insane", "crazy", "troubled", and anything and everything that suggests a peripheral divide between the norms of human nature. Such beliefs have, on occasion, led individuals struggling with their mental health to view themselves in the same light-as tarnished, crazy, and broken.
In Musings of a Broken Mind: A Collection of Poems and Prose, you will read about lived experiences and reflections from the perspective of a broken woman living in an equally broken world. The book follows the author's journey from childhood, to leaving home at sixteen, to being adopted by a new family. It includes emails sent to her therapist, a romantic relationship, and her struggles with OCD and C-PTSD.
Musings of a Broken Mind gives the reader deeper insight into the factors that play a role in the formation of an individual's life and identity. Some factors include culture, religion, trauma, family, environment, socioeconomic status, education, the unconscious, and more. Suleman believes that before any labels, disorders, and illnesses, we are humans-complex in our many facets that shape who we are and who we will become.
Bisma Suleman studied psychology and creative writing at Duke University. Despite the obstacles she has faced in her life-whether it be leaving home at sixteen, navigating mental health struggles, or early childhood trauma-her experiences have shaped her into the strong woman she is today. Bisma recognizes the importance of sharing her story in the hope that others will know they are not alone in their own battles. When she is not writing or researching, she enjoys telling bad puns and using laughter as her greatest coping mechanism.
