Mental Illness Presentations on Recovery, Survival and Peer Support in Schizophrenia

DUNDAS, Ontario - March 24, 2014 - PRLog -- Sakeenah and Anika Francis, the mother and daughter authors of Love's All That Makes Sense, on growing up with a mother with schizophrenia, will be giving two talks in May. On May 1, they will be in Cleveland, OH to present the keynote address about their experiences with schizophrenia and how they survived to the Annual General Meeting of the agency, Recovery Resources.

The next day, they will be in Athens, Ohio to speak at the Second of the NAMI/Friends of the Library Series at the Athens County Library.

Sakeenah is an activist with NAMI Cleveland and has just been elected to its Board of Directors. Trained as an “In Our Own Voice” speaker, she has given a large number of talks to various types of groups. Meanwhile, daughter Anika, who experienced her mother’s schizophrenia up close from the age of three, supported her mother during the bad years and eventually became a writer after getting degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and University of Georgia (MEd). She now owns a consulting firm which focusses on learning and development.

Last year, both presented a joint workshop at the Roads To Recovery '13 Conference entitled "A Journey Beyond Medicaid" in Cleveland, at the 60th Annual Conference of the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in Orlando, and they were the keynote speakers at the Pastor's Summit Multicultural Faith Based Leadership Summit on Mental Illness put on by National Alliance on Mental Illness Alabama in Montgomery, Alabama.

Sandra Shwayder Sanchez of Bookpleasures said "I cannot recommend this wonderful book highly enough for each and every reader who cares about a world where people love and care for one another." and Dr Sarah Y Vinson of Black Mental Health said "This book will provide validation and inspiration for families who face similar struggles, as well as provide mental health care providers with perspectives that can inform care."

For further details, visit (visit http://bridgeross.com/francis.html

Erin Emiru (nee Hawkes) is the author of the highly acclaimed When Quietness Came: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey with schizophrenia ( see http://bridgeross.com/hawkes.html). She will be presenting to the 9th Annual Family Conference on Family Involvement in the Mental Health System in Vancouver, BC on April 26. Erin will be talking about Peer support and stories of recovery.

Erin has appeared on National Public Radio in the US, on radio stations in BC, a cover story in the Georgia Straight, and has had articles published on Huffington Post, The Tyee and the National Post. Last year, she presented to the Clinical Neurosciences Conference at the Univeristy of British Columbia. A video of that presentation is available on the webiste above.

Among the many positive reviews for this book on Amazon is this:


"Hawkes writes an intimate narrative of the development of schizophrenia from the earliest days of its onset through at least ten years. She makes very clear the progress of each psychotic break and what was going on in HER mind as it happened--very revealing for anyone living with someone slipping into schizophrenia. She also includes observations of more lucid perceptions and writing--she writes well. I've recommended this book to friends in NAMI who have afflicted schizophrenic relatives, and they have found it very helpful to enable them to see more clearly what their loved one copes with."

When Quietness Came: A neuroscientist's Personal Journey With Schizophrenia, ISBN 9780987824448, 246 Pages, $19.95, distributed by Ingram and available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Chapters/Indigo and in various e-book formats

Love's All That Makes Sense: A Mother Daughter Memoir
ISBN 978-1927637005, 260 pages, 19.95 Distributed by Ingram and available atAmazon, Barnes and Noble, Chapters/Indigo and in e-book formats.