Book Description

Lina had the idyllic childhood—until descending into mental chaos. Caught in a chaotic world of her own making, Lina resorts to recording her teenage thoughts to make sense of her anguish. She shares the details of her life obsessively with her sister and her friends, in millions of words eventually found by their father. Lost in the dark, Lina navigates the childhood evidence later found in her archives. But will her research open a pathway to love—or help her continue down the path of blame, false memories, and spite? The past and present events are Lina’s direct experience through her eyes and words, faithfully condensed by her father. The future events—Lina’s therapy and mature reflections—were projected by the author and a senior psychologist with access to the source material. Love her or hate her, through Lina's own heart-wrenching language the reader steps into her broken inner world to experience firsthand the emotions, depression, obsessions, irrationality, and ruthlessness of teenage borderline personality disorder. Emo Reality shines a light into the dark corners of adolescent mental illness, proving this disorder is not just a phase and demonstrating its ravages not just upon an individual, but also upon a whole family. ★★★★★ “An unusual book about mental health and family dynamics, strangely compelling, like peeking into a diary. Some readers will bounce off the language, but those who connect will see how mental struggle can affect a family in ripples and crashing waves.”—Amelia J. ★★★★★ “As a mental health therapist I found the mental health representation to be accurate and insightful. A great job of crafting an interesting narrative based on lived experience, and ending with valuable information.”—Stephanie L. ★★★★★ “This book brought me to tears as Lina recounts episodes of hallucinations and misremembering. More than a case study, this is a harrowing exploration of a life living with mental illness.”—Alicia C. ★★★★★ “The reader feels the visceral emotions Lina experiences and the anger, desperation, and isolation she endures. This book is a significant entry into books about mental health and brings the enormity of the psychiatric situation to bear upon the reader.”—Betsy B.