Book Discussion Unshrunk, by Laura Delano
Author Laura Delano will discuss her new book, “Unshrunk: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistant,” on Monday, May 12, at 7 pm in our Program Room, Radcliffe Building, Perrot Memorial Library.
Is it possible that psychiatry’s medication-based standard of care is making some people sick? At age fourteen, Laura Delano saw her first psychiatrist. It wouldn’t be her last. At school, Delano earned straight-As, a national squash ranking, and was elected class president; at home, however, the scene was troubling: full of rage and despair, she would lash out at her family, lock herself in her bedroom, and obsess over death. Delano was struggling but not without diagnosis: bipolar disorder, her psychiatrist said, immediately starting her on a mood stabilizer and antidepressant.
For the next thirteen years, Delano lived in the clutch of psychiatry and prescription drugs, seeking treatment from the best psychiatrists and hospitals in the country, accumulating a long list of diagnoses and a cabinet full of medications. Delano had questions about her diagnosis and treatment but, given her struggles and suicidal tendencies, adhered to the pharmaceutical regimen (nineteen different drugs over time) she’d been told was necessary to manage her “incurable, lifelong disease.” When her symptoms only worsened, doctors declared her condition so severe as to be “treatment resistant.”
Demoralized by her circumstances and inability to get well, Delano went back to her lingering questions about her initial and subsequent diagnosis. What if her life was falling apart not despite her treatment, but because of it? After years of faithful patienthood, Delano realized there was one thing she hadn’t tried—leaving behind their prescription drugs and psychiatric diagnoses. This decision would mean unlearning everything experts had told her about her body, mind, and self. It meant exploring in full the terrifying unknowns of an unmedicated life.
Weaving Delano’s long personal struggles with medical records, doctors’ notes, an investigation of modern psychiatry, and research on the drugs she was prescribed, Unshrunk questions the dominant, rarely critiqued role that the American mental health and the pharmaceutical industries play in shaping in our wellness and what it means to be human.
Laura Delano is a writer, speaker, and consultant, and the founder of Inner Compass Initiative, a charitable organization that helps people make informed choices about psychiatric diagnoses, drugs, and drug withdrawal. She is a leading voice in the international movement to offer patients an alternative to the medicalized, professionalized mental health industry. Delano works with individuals and families around the world who are seeking guidance and support during their withdrawal journeys and in their post-psychiatric lives. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and children.
Registration is required. To register, click here.
To reserve a copy of the book from our catalog, click here. To purchase a copy of the book from Athena Books, click here.
For more information, contact Lisa Thomas at 203-637-1066 x20 or lisat@perrotlibrary.org.
Book Discussion: “Estranged: How Strained Female Friendships Are Mended or Ended,” by Susan Shapiro Barash
Author Susan Shapiro Barash, in conversation with Greenwich Pen Women President Adrienne Reedy, will discuss her new book, Estranged: How Strained Female Friendships Are Mended or Ended, on Wednesday, May 7, at 7 pm, in the Program Room, Radcliffe Building, Perrot Memorial Library.
In her provocative new book, Estranged: How Strained Female Friendships are Mended or Ended, Susan Shapiro Barash takes a deep dive into the complexities of female friendships. By peeling back the societal narrative that our friendships are meant to last forever, she uncovers a more nuanced reality: The closest bonds do falter. Through groundbreaking research and 150 interviews with women ranging in age from 20-80, Barash reveals an emerging trend — estrangement among female friends.
Estranged is an eye-opening investigation/practical guide for women navigating the murky waters of suboptimal friendships. The book sheds light on the unspoken pain of estrangement—both for the “estranger” who walks away and the “estrangee” who is left behind. Amid candid confessions of betrayal and grief, Barash challenges women to reimagine their friendships and take the bold step of letting go when necessary.
This cutting-edge book offers an empowering path forward: learning to prioritize self-worth, stability and authenticity over loyalty to friendships that no longer serve us.
Susan Shapiro Barash has written more than a dozen nonfiction books, including Tripping the Prom Queen, Toxic Friends, and You’re Grounded Forever, but First Let’s Go Shopping. For more than 20 years she taught gender studies at Marymount Manhattan College and has guest taught creative nonfiction at the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College. Her fiction is published under her pen name, Susannah Marren.
Registration is required. Click here to register.
To purchase a copy from Athena Books, click here.
For more information, contact Judy Sgammato at 203-637-1066 x15 or at judys@perrotlibrary.org.
Perrot Memorial Library Welcomes Pizzi String Quartet
Join us on Sunday, May 4, at 2 pm for a performance by the Pizzi String Quartet. The concert will take place on the “green” (the central carpeted area) in our Youth Services Department, Radcliffe Building, Perrot Memorial Library. We are offering this concert in celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
The concert will feature Ju Jin-Bornet on violin, Joanna Park on violin, Mitsuru Kubo on viola, and Sin Hwa Choi on cello. A native of South Korea, violinist Ju Jin-Bornet has been passionately performing and teaching in New York City and New Jersey since 2008. She has performed in a wide variety of orchestras, including the Broadway show “The Phantom of the Opera” (sub), the NYU Symphony Orchestra (concertmaster), the S. O. Phi. A Orchestra (concertmaster), the MSM Philharmonic (assistant concertmaster), the Manhattan Symphonie Orchestra played in Carnegie’s Weill Hall, and the Bergen Symphony Orchestra.
Joanna Park, a gifted violinist, embarked on her musical journey in her teenage years in Germany. Her passion for music blossomed during this time, leading her to pursue higher education in the United States. After earning her master’s degree from New York University, Joanna’s career took flight. With performances at renowned venues like Merkin Hall and Carnegie Hall, Joanna has showcased her exceptional talent and versatility as a violinist. Her ability to seamlessly transition between classical and contemporary repertoire, coupled with her expressive playing style, has captivated audiences worldwide.
Mitsuru Kubo received her training at Peabody Conservatory and the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is a dynamic musician, performing a wide range of modern and traditional chamber and solo repertoire. Her recent collaborations include American-rapper Common and eclectic-pop band Pink Martini. She is a founding member of the BeneSori Quartet, whom she met on the set of Saturday Night Live. Her performance credits include venues such as The Kennedy Center, the UN, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Hammerstein Ballroom.
Cellist Sin Hwa Choi was born in Seoul, Korea. She began her musical studies at the age of six with piano. She started her cello lesson at age nine. Since then, she has participated in various orchestras as a principal cellist, such as Ulsan University Orchestra, Ulsan Youth Orchestra, Asian Youth Orchestra. Bergen Symphony Orchestra, and Queensboro Symphony Orchestra. She also performed as a soloist for the Ulsan Symphony Orchestra, Ulsan University Orchestra, Busan Symphony Orchestra, Ulsan Chamber Orchestra, New York Chamber Orchestra, and, Queensboro Symphony Orchestra.
Seating is limited. Registration is required. To register, click here.
For more information, contact Lisa Thomas at 203-637-1066 x20 or lisat@perrotlibrary.org.
