Hearing V0ices, Living Fully: Living with the Voices in my Head.  ISBN: 9781785927188. Published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, http://www.jkp.com, on June 21, 2016.

 

Remarkable and inspiring. In a clear and resonant narrative voice, Claire Bien tells how she struggled and eventually surmounted auditory hallucinations and severe emotional turmoil while living a full life:  maturing in the first generation of a Chinese-American family, marrying, working full-time, and nurturing a son in a supportive family and community. Selby C. Jacobs, MD, MPH, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Public Health, Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry

 

If you come to this book with an open mind and a responsive heart, you will be rewarded with a well-told tale of human aspirations, courageous actions, and notable achievements. From the Foreword by Larry Davidson, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine.

 

Bien’s memoir witnesses to the resilience of the human spirit and her determination to live a full life, thus illustrating that a person is more than a diagnosis. Therapy, medication, relationships and work are all critical components that enable a person to regain a life despite debilitating symptoms. She is a woman of courage. Nancy Kehoe RSCJ, PhD, Author of Wrestling with Our Inner Angels: Faith, Mental Illness and the Journey to Wholeness

 

In this candid, informative memoir, Bien, a trained facilitator for the Hearing Voices Network, describes experiencing auditory verbal hallucinations throughout much of her adult life. Having eventually learned to manage this condition, she aims to bring hope to others in the same circumstances. . . . Bien is lucid and calm in looking back at her life and battles, displaying an admirably unflinching self-awareness. . . . and her journey will appeal to others struggling to overcome or better understand the same affliction. (Publisher’s Weekly, June 2016) To read the full review, please visit: http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-78592-718-8

 

This is a revolutionary book, written by Claire Bien, who has experienced and dealt with auditory hallucinations-latterly without medication. Now living with a son and successful career, it tells of her determination not to let the disease beat her. …Some of the book can be graphic, as Claire provides a full picture of the ‘degree of horror’ such a condition can engender; however, she also provides hope of recovery, ‘even the most horrifying and bizarre beliefs are not sign and symptom of an irreparably broken mind.’ (Anne Parfitt-Rogers, New York Journal of Books) To read the full review, please visit: http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/hearing-voices-living-fully-lhead

 

Reader reviews are available on Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Hearing-Voices-Living-Fully-Head/dp/1785927183/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1471780463&sr=1-1