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My book, entitled The People of New East City: a Fictional Anthology consists of a series of stories, each narrated by a different character. I decided to self-publish my manuscript after it was rejected by two traditional publishers. The rejections were very painful for me and I felt that I would be unable to withstand the series of rejections that would be necessary to find a traditional publisher that would accept it. The book was eventually self-published by Authorhouse.com, a print-on-demand company.

The stories in the anthology are based on my personal experiences with mental illness. I began to exhibit symptoms of OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and depression when I was very young. These symptoms worsened during my adolescence. I thought I would never be able to write again. After my first hospitalization I was able to write again. I had been unable to function creatively for a decade. I felt empowered and began to take a greater interest in world events; I wrote letters to the editors of various papers. A number of my letters were published in The New York Times, Newsday, and in local Brooklyn papers, like the Bay News, Brooklyn Bridge Magazine, etc.

Around this time I happened upon Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters; the author composed his book as a series of stories centered on various controversial issues. Masters’ anthology inspired me to write a book using a similar format; my book consists of about 200 stories mainly addressing mental health issues. They are narrated by psychiatrists, therapists, aides and mental health consumers. They speak of abuse, good treatment, helpful doctors, harmful therapists and how politics impacts health care. Though mental illness is the main focus of my book, it also gives glimpses of some of the defining elements of Brooklyn- homeless people, diversity, artists, parks and the beautiful haunting streets of historic Brooklyn Heights. One narrator describes the beauty of its streets as he walks down a waterfront street and sees church steeples, towers and gargoyles silhouetted against the fading light of a dying day.

I have tried to infuse my stories with humor and satire while conveying the difficulties and trials inherent in the mental health community. Living in New York City provided me with a variety of experiences; seeing all different kinds of people and catching bits of conversations gave me material for my book. My love of the city runs through each of the stories, just as the veins and arteries of the subway run through the city.

I wrote this book to bring mental health issues into the open; patients are abused and are unable to fight back because of their disability. Patients in hospitals are raped and no one believes them, because they’re mentally ill. The public does not pressure elected officials to help mental patients because of stigma. People treat mentally ill people as if we’re less than human. By bringing these things into the open I hope something will be done about them.

To order The People of New East City call 1-888-519-5121 or visit www.authorhouse.com