Overview

In the summer of 2016, Barrie Miskin became pregnant with her daughter and was encouraged to discontinue the low dose of antidepressants she had been on for over a decade for the safety of the baby. This ended up being a grave mistake. By January 2017, Barrie was no longer recognizable to her family, her friends or herself. In Barrie's family's desperate effort to obtain a diagnosis and a treatment, they journeyed through the cold, bleak and murky world of mental healthcare in the United States. Sometimes, they were met with compassion and care but more often than not, they were treated with dismissiveness, ignorance and sometimes, cruelty.When Barrie was finally diagnosed with the very rare condition of pregnancy induced depersonalization and derealization disorder, she had to begin the long climb out of the dark well she was imprisoned in - all while trying to raise her beautiful baby daughter, keep her teaching career and preserve her marriage. Hell Gate Bridge brings rare mental illnesses into the light, seeks to heal the fractures in our broken maternal and mental healthcare system, and shows how we can overcome the impossible when we fight to save the ones we love.

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9781960456021

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Reviews

"""Hell Gate Bridgeis an unexpected page-turner. At times, it reads like a Kafkaesque thriller about the American healthcare system. With this assured debut, Barrie Miskin joins the ranks of Styron, Cahalan, and Jamison.""--Kate Brody, author of The Rabbit Hole ""A chilling and ultimately redemptive story, one that kept me up at night reading, evoking reflection on the ways America fails mothers, but also, the ways mothers never cease to fight back.""--Chelsea Bieker, author of Godshot and Heartbroke ""Barrie Miskin writes with a blend of urgency and empathy that characterizes the very best memoirs. Every time I read these pages, I find myself turning them breathlessly, caught up in luscious scenic descriptions and eager to learn what happens next.""--Sara Perry, author of After the Eclipse ""Hell Gate Bridge chronicles what it is like as a mother to fall through every safety net in the battle with mental illness. Society relies on the mother to be whole and complete, but when she's the one that needs to be cared for, how does she cope? Barrie Miskin plumbs the depths for the root of her illness, and what we learn is that the work of healing takes grit, patience, and the white-knuckle grip of hope that our loved ones will be there for us in our deepest times of need. ""--Elle Nash, author of Deliver Me, Gag Reflex, Nudes and Animals Eat Each Other ""Hell Gate Bridge is an unexpected page-turner. At times, it reads like a Kafkaesque thriller about the American healthcare system. I tore through it in a single day, unable to pry myself away. With this assured debut, Barrie Miskin joins the ranks of Styron, Cahalan, and Jamison."" --Kate Brody, author of The Rabbit Hole ""A bold, necessary and absolutely beautiful portrait of early motherhood and mental illness. I was rapt from the start, marveling at the mystery and the bravery, and most of all, the steadfast love that connects us even in our darkest hours. A chilling and ultimately redemptive story, one that kept me up at night reading, evoking reflection on the ways America fails mothers, but also, the ways mothers never cease to fight back. This should be required reading for every person, period. Barrie Miskin guides us with an expert's hand, never ceasing to remind us of our own humanity along the way. I loved it.""--Chelsea Bieker, author of Godshot and Heartbroke ""An addictive, harrowing account of one woman's descent into depersonalization-derealization disorder and a biting commentary on the American psychiatric care system. Barrie Miskin is a master storyteller, laying herself bare with honesty, earnestness, vulnerability and charm. With the highs, lows and twists of an elegantly plotted novel, Hell Gate Bridge explores the paranoia and isolation of maternal mental illness from a whole other universe. This book is poised to be a seminal text.""--Mila Jaroniec, author of Plastic Vodka Bottle Sleepover ""Barrie Miskin is a master storyteller, laying herself bare with honesty, earnestness, vulnerability and charm."" --Mila Jaroniec, author of Plastic Vodka Bottle Sleepover ""Barrie Miskin writes with a blend of urgency and empathy that characterizes the very best memoirs. Every time I read these pages, I find myself turning them breathlessly, caught up in luscious scenic descriptions and eager to learn what happens next. This is a story of a medical establishment that doubts women, and of the complicated cultural narratives we hold about motherhood. It's also a story about what happens to a marriage when mental illness takes hold, and when parenthood brings unexpected challenges. There's deep love here, and deep insight. Hell Gate Bridge is a gift.""--Sara Perry, author of After the Eclipse ""In Hell Gate Bridge, Barrie Miskin writes in beautiful and harrowing detail about her experience with severe maternal mental illness, giving us a Girl, Interrupted view into the world and mind of a new mother dealing with intrusive thoughts and a sort of unreality as she manages as best she can to survive. I was holding my breath on page one and never really breathed easy until the final page was turned. This is a book I wish Sylvia Plath was alive to read.""--Elizabeth Ellen, author of Person/a, editor of Hobart, founder of SF/LD books"

Author Information

Barrie Miskin, a survivor of a severe and rare maternal mental illness, writes from a personal lens on maternal and mental health. Her essays, creative nonfiction and interviews have appeared in Hobart, Narratively, Motherwell, Write or Die Magazine and elsewhere. She is a fellowship recipient from The Cullman Center Institute for Teachers as well as the Unruly Retreat for Writers. Barrie is also a public school teacher in Queens, New York, where she lives with her husband and daughter.

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