at Sweet Candy

Functionally ill #1 is still being stocked by Sweet Candy Distro, listed under personal zines. Here is the link--I'm at the bottom of the page.

http://www.eyecandyzine.com/zines_D-F.html

Zine World review

Functionally ill #1 got a very favorable review in the latest Zine World. I've received one order as a result so far.

This is about as good as it gets for me. Laura-Marie tackles her fear, her shame, her secrets, and the voices in her head by talking about her journey through the surreal landscape of mental illness and the mental health system. Her no-nonsense writing is clear, concise, and ultimately poignant in its hopefulness. She is completely likable, and casts a profoundly human and compassionate light on anyone we might meet who struggles with mental illness. --Jack

update about #3

Issue 3 is slow going. I find myself with much less to say now that this is no longer new. But I have faith that issue 3 will happen one day. So far the most compelling thing I have is transcription of my voices--I wrote down some of the things they were saying. Erik found it really interesting.

Today I got an email from possibly the biggest distro in the US wanting to carry functionally ill issues 1 and 2, but I'm sure they'll change their mind when they read my email back saying that they're free. Very few distros want to put something free in the catalog. But I said I would send some anyway to give away if they want. We'll see.

listing of #2

You can see my main distro's description of #2 here.

http://www.freewebs.com/sweetpeadistro/zinesfj.htm

Laura-Marie says on the first page: "Functionally Ill is a mental health zine I'm writing about my experiences becoming bipolar and navigating county mental health." She talks a lot about problems with mental illness and it really made me think about the way society views mental illness - I got upset! She talks about going to see a psychiatrist and how nervous she was and how he didn't understand her - frustrating! She talks about mania and a support group. This zine makes me want to give Laura-Marie a hug - she is so brave!

number two is finished and out

Functionally ill #2 is the latest installment in my examination of mental illness from within and without. A long essay "problems with mental illness" discusses the construction of mental illness, stigma, and the words we use to talk about it. There's a detailed description of my trip to the psychiatrist: our fears beforehand, the questions he asked (including, "Who's the president of the United States?"), the prescription of medication, and conflict. Shorter pieces discuss my feelings and choices about medication, a helpful support group Erik and I attended and what happened there, more about what mania is like and how it can make me super-productive or delirious, and the first bi-polar person I ever knew, who threatened to kill my friend Jenny. A poem about suicide graces the back cover. I'll paste its ending.

Not killing myself
exhausts me.
It’s like a swim that never ends,
a long push through
pain to the place where
you’re allowed to die of natural causes.

Free or trade, 20 pages, digest sized, text heavy.

If you would like a copy, please email me at robotmad at gmail dot com, explaining in a sentence or two why you're interested, with your complete mailing address.

#2

Functionally ill #2 should be done within two weeks. Last night Erik read a draft, and we like it. It looks like the new issue will be 20 pages again, just as text heavy. There's a long essay "problems with mental health" which is abstract and has a large scope. There's an account of the first bi-polar person I ever knew, who threatened to kill my friend Jenny at UCSB. There's a long account of seeing the psychiatrist and getting diagnosed by him. I talk more about how mania feels, a support group I attended, and there's something about medication.

As always, it will be available by trade and free by request.

zine wiki listing

Why oh why won't zine wiki respect my lack of capitalization. (I'll show them! I won't capitalize zine wiki ever again.)

http://zinewiki.com/index.php?title=Functionally_Ill

Note that "Becoming Bipolar" should be "becoming bipolar" etc.

first listing

Functionally ill is being carried by my loyal distro Sweet Pea.

Here's where you can see Lisa's description.

http://www.freewebs.com/sweetpeadistro/zinesfj.htm

new zine

I have a new mental health zine. It's called functionally ill: adventures with mental health, and it will be out in a week or two. This particular issue is titled becoming bipolar.

In functionally ill I describe what depression and mania feel like for me, describe the voices in detail, give some scenes of what the various clinics are like, and talk about the mental health evaluation I had over the phone.

If you're already on the list for Erik and Laura-Marie Magazine, don't worry--I'll send you this one too. If you're not on the list and would like to be, just drop me a line with your postal address. Use robotmad at gmail dot com.