Growing Up With a Schizophrenic Mom and Trying to Stay Sane

Ever wonder what your childhood would have been like if you were growing up with a schizophrenic mom in an era when they didn't have medication to treat the disorder? Today's guest, Joan Carol Lieberman (no relation), has lived to tell the tale and she's written about it in her new two-part autobiography, Optimal Distance: A Divided Life. As a little girl, every day was a struggle to find the optimal distance from her paranoid schizophrenic mother. Her dad traveled a lot for his work, so she was left on her own to try to cope with her mom's hallucinations, delusions and sometimes violent behavior. Joan has kept a diary since she was 5 years old, and she draws from this to share her courageous story and give us a rare glimpse into the realities of mental illness. Her story has a happy ending, in that Joan managed to survive her childhood and go on to live a very sane and fulfilling life.