Madwomen: Is It Trauma or a Curse?

Renee shares some of her favorite mental health memoirs and Mariquita interviews author Anamely Salgado Reyes, all in a search for the answer to an age-old question: Are we mad or is it just trauma?   Renee’s Reading Corner: Mental Health Memoirs (0:21) Instead of a longer review of one book, Renee shares six mental health memoirs that made a last impression on her. From C-PTSD to depression, from sociopathy to anxiety, this segment covers a lot of ground.   You Will Make Mistakes: Finding Home and Family in My Mother Cursed My Name (12:19) Mariquita interviews author Anamely Salgado Reyes about her debut novel, My Mother Cursed My Name. They discuss the legacy of trauma passed along by family who did their best, what it means to feel othered, how to define home, and just how, exactly, you can break a curse.     Books and Resources Mentioned: Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo A Flat Place by Noreen Masud The Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction Short List - podcast episode with Sally and Renee The Valedictorian of Being Dead by Heather B. Armstrong Sociopath by Patric Gagne Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh My Mother Cursed My Name by Anamely Salgado Reyes Support this episode’s hosts and guests: Follow Renee: Instagram // The StoryGraph Follow Mariquita: Instagram  Follow Anamely: Instagram   Today’s episode is sponsored by Gretchen Sisson, author of Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood. Your support helps keep feminist media independent!   Get our weekly round-up of blog and podcast content delivered directly to your inbox every Friday here.   Check out our online community here!    This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.   Original music by @iam.onyxrose   Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.