A Brutally Honest, Illuminating Journey Into the Mind in Crisis

A Tiny White Light: A Memoir of a Mind in Crisis by Linda Bass takes readers on an unforgettable journey, from her difficult childhood with a challenging mother, a young adulthood steeped in alcohol and meaningless relationships, the stigma and fallout of her brother's mental illness, two unfulfilling marriages, and ultimately to her own psychotic break.

What makes this book extraordinary is its brutal honesty, in the best possible way. The author masterfully captures how her tortured mind races during the most mundane activities: making breakfast, caring for her kids, navigating ordinary life. She's a deep thinker and we feel every moment of it.

The heart of this book is the psychotic episode itself, and I've never read anything quite like it. The fascinating inside view of her mind in psychosis is both revelatory and, surprising to me, not frightening. The author's mania is palpable. As I read, I could feel it in my body, my heart racing as I read faster and faster. There's an irony in the fact that her grandiose plan during this episode was to write about these very experiences and here we are, decades later, reading the result.

The ending left me with lingering questions: How did she move past this? How did she rebuild? How was she able to avoid other psychotic episodes? I wanted more closure, more answers about her recovery journey.

Brave, bold, illuminating, and well-written, this memoir is essential reading for anyone interested in the human mind and overcoming adversity. It is especially relevant for those touched by mental illness and clinicians seeking to understand the lived experience of psychosis from the inside.

—Julie Savitch, EdD, author of My Other Kids: A Memoir of Child Advocacy and the Power of Showing Up