What inspired you to write your memoir?
I carried on writing about my life after publishing my first memoir, ‘My Alien Self: My Journey Back to Me’, and my continued recovery from mental illness, plus more uplifting events and techniques and decided to create this sequel to show that recovery is tough and can take a long time, but with effort and self help, it is possible. However, this book is also a standalone memoir for everyone, as it touches on many subjects, such as music memories, animal/pet therapy and more fun stuff.

About your Book:
After recovering from mental illness and many other adversities, Amanda Green published her true story (‘My Alien Self: My Journey Back to Me’ on kindle). This is the journal of her life during the year following publication. Dysfunctional and ever more inspiring, this memoir will take you into a whirlwind of love, humour, emotion, depression, adventures, music, animals, family health and relationships, as she strives to stay strong and achieve a life really worth living as a childless woman before her fast approaching 40th birthday.
Due to flashbacks of dark scenes and sexual abuse, this memoir is for adults only and although it’s a sequel, it can easily be read alone.

How did you decide how to publish your book and where is it published through:
I had already self published my first memoir, and I enjoy that process where I am in control, so I decided to do the same for this one.

How do you see writing a Memoir as different from writing other genres of books?
Although writing a memoir does need to have a story line, flow and peaks/troughs, it does not require the same story arc a novel does. Also the protagonist in a memoir just does what they do rather than a fictional character who needs to tick certain boxes. It is harder to write a memoir because it is so close to you, the author, but then it’s easier in many other ways, because the story is already there.

Author Bio:
I am Amanda Green, author of ‘My Alien Self – My Journey Back To Me’ and the sequel ’39’.
‘My Alien Self – My Journey Back To Me’ is my memoir which follows my journey through travel, excitement, normality and mental illness to find myself again. ’39’ is about what happened afterwards; the year before reaching the prime age of forty, family relationships, love and memories. I want to inspire others that it is possible to recover and have a life worth living.
Because I grew up with my mother having severe Schizophrenia, who had been incarcerated in psychiatric hospitals for years, and felt the bullying and loneliness that stigma can spread, I campaign to ‘stop the stigma surrounding mental illness. I also felt the wrath of stigma when I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality disorder. Many people do not understand mental illness, so judge people unfairly. So I created www.amandagreenauthor.co.uk where I publish articles on the topics covered in my story, including self help, depression, bankruptcy, Alcohol/drug abuse, family and relationships, sexual, physical and mental abuse, anxiety, anger, Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), self harm, Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), Anorexia Nervosa/Bulimia, mindfulness, panic, rape, Schizophrenia, psychosis, Suicidal thoughts, , paranoia, dissociation, mood disorder, thyroid issues and psychology.
I love photography, writing and looking after my many websites, and have had my work published in magazines. I enjoy the challenge of getting published and very much enjoy doing my own PR, which is why I chose to self publish to kindle in this first instance.
I will be working with mental health charities, magazines, newspapers, social networking and other PR projects, actively making people aware of this disorder through every means possible through the media. But also, I hope that my books will help other sufferers and their families and friends to understand BPD and mental health and how to help oneself to feel better. I want to raise awareness to the general public about mental illness and the stigma sufferers have to deal with. I am going to continue writing through fact and fiction storytelling, on the genre of Mental Health and love stories – facing and combating adversity as the main point. (not self help books, but based on reality)
I hope that Doctors and the medical industry involved with mental health will benefit from reading my stories, as they unfold what it is like to suffer from debilitating mental illness from the inside out and how it manifests itself.
But I have also written my memoirs in a style that I hope will be compelling and sometimes shocking reads for anyone interested in memoirs with a twist, so that I can reach more people.
I really hope to encourage more celebrities to come out about BPD, depression or other mental illnesses.
Outside of work, I love eating out and reviewing restaurants, travel, days out, campaigning for the precious Orang-utan and the issues of unsustainable palm oil production, running six websites of my own and seeing my family. I also enjoy reading, theatre, films, TV and cooking and when I can calm my mind down, just relaxing!

Website(s)
Author Home Page Link
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6525174.Amanda_Green
https://www.facebook.com/AmandaGreenAuthor
https://twitter.com/AmandaGreenUK

What inspired you to write your memoir?
When I was suffering mental illness and felt alone, I read other people’s memoirs and they helped me a lot. I knew I had a story to share that would show just how mental illness forms, what makes it worse, and all I had to do was get better to have the ending! It took many years, but I managed it!

About your Book:
If I told you I’d been to twenty-four Countries (twenty-one by the time I was twenty-two), that I’d worked in Japan for nine months, toured Australia for six months, enjoyed seven months in Thailand and met and campaigned for the Orangutan in Borneo, you might think that I was pretty lucky.

If I told you I’d worked in the hotel industry, for a sexual health department in a hospital and with prisoners in a drug cell block of a male prison, that I’d worked as a recruitment consultant, in so many office jobs I’ve lost count, as well as having my own company and multiple websites, at age thirty-six, then you might think I’ve had an interesting life.

But if I added to that a mix of child rape, mental health problems, promiscuity, drug taking, alcohol abuse, eating disorders, self-harm, violence, mood swings, obsession, jealousy, loss of self worth, being raised by a mentally ill mother, bankruptcy, thyroid and gastro problems and public masturbation in school at age nine, then I am not sure what you’d think.

But this is me; Amanda Green. This is my life, my story; my journey back to me from depression, anxiety, panic attacks, OCD and Borderline Personality Disorder – mental illness which manifested during my life and came out ‘to it’s peak’ in my thirties.

I was able to use my collection of mementos, photos, diaries, journals, letters, emails and text messages of my past to finally see who I had become, and more importantly with a combination of therapy, medication and my writing, how I became that alien self and how I found the real me.

The editor (Debz Hobbs-Wyatt) adds…

This is the journey of a normal working class girl, trapped in a roller coaster world of disorder and excitement, love and joy, depression and anger – and her fight against stigma

While My Alien Self would be inspiring for any sufferer, their families or medical teams in its honest insights into living with a mental illness, it also has universal appeal. For who, at times, has not felt their life spin into chaos and wondered what is normal? This story effectively and openly highlights just how fine the line is between what is normal, and what is ‘mental illness’ And everyone who reads it will be able to relate to it.

Contains explicit language and sexual scenes

Emergence had this to say ‘‘We very much enjoyed reading this honest and powerful account of Amanda’s journey from diagnosis to recovery. We applaud such authentic and candid accounts of the devastation that can be experienced by those living with personality disorder and of the message of hope and recovery that the book conveys.’

Bon Dobbs (Anything To Stop The Pain and Author of ‘When hope is not enough’) said ‘While there are many borderline personality disorder memoirs out now (including The Buddha and the Borderline, Loud House of Myself,Get Me Out of Here, Girl in Need of a Tourniquet and Poisoned Love – see this link), My Alien Self goes a long way to providing hope to the sufferers of BPD. By publishing the steps taken to reframe certain ways thinking, through CBT worksheets and other exercises, the author has revealed that recovery from BPD is possible.’

I self published this book and am very proud of that fact, because I was able to write it exactly as I wanted it to be written, with the help from my fabulous editor, Debz Hobbs-Wyatt. Whilst the massive help a publisher and agent gives, they do narrow down what is published, so I took on the journey to publish it and market it myself.

There’s a sequel out too, called ’39’. It’s quite different, but it leads on from this one 🙂

How did you decide how to publish your book and where is it published through:
I had some interest from a couple of agents, who I sent my draft ms to, and it gave me the strength to go forth and self publish, so I have my memoir as an e-book only at this time, published through Amazon.

How do you see writing a Memoir as different from writing other genres of books?
Although writing a memoir does need to have a story line, flow and peaks/troughs, it does not require the same story arc a novel does. Also the protagonist in a memoir just does what they do rather than a fictional character who needs to tick certain boxes. It is harder to write a memoir because it is so close to you, the author, but then it’s easier in many other ways, because the story is already there.

Author Bio:
I am Amanda Green, author of ‘My Alien Self – My Journey Back To Me’ and the sequel ’39’.

‘My Alien Self – My Journey Back To Me’ is my memoir which follows my journey through travel, excitement, normality and mental illness to find myself again. ’39’ is about what happened afterwards; the year before reaching the prime age of forty, family relationships, love and memories. I want to inspire others that it is possible to recover and have a life worth living.

Because I grew up with my mother having severe Schizophrenia, who had been incarcerated in psychiatric hospitals for years, and felt the bullying and loneliness that stigma can spread, I campaign to ‘stop the stigma surrounding mental illness. I also felt the wrath of stigma when I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality disorder. Many people do not understand mental illness, so judge people unfairly. So I created www.amandagreenauthor.co.uk where I publish articles on the topics covered in my story, including self help, depression, bankruptcy, Alcohol/drug abuse, family and relationships, sexual, physical and mental abuse, anxiety, anger, Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), self harm, Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), Anorexia Nervosa/Bulimia, mindfulness, panic, rape, Schizophrenia, psychosis, Suicidal thoughts, , paranoia, dissociation, mood disorder, thyroid issues and psychology.

I love photography, writing and looking after my many websites, and have had my work published in magazines. I enjoy the challenge of getting published and very much enjoy doing my own PR, which is why I chose to self publish to kindle in this first instance.

I will be working with mental health charities, magazines, newspapers, social networking and other PR projects, actively making people aware of this disorder through every means possible through the media. But also, I hope that my books will help other sufferers and their families and friends to understand BPD and mental health and how to help oneself to feel better. I want to raise awareness to the general public about mental illness and the stigma sufferers have to deal with. I am going to continue writing through fact and fiction storytelling, on the genre of Mental Health and love stories – facing and combating adversity as the main point. (not self help books, but based on reality)

I hope that Doctors and the medical industry involved with mental health will benefit from reading my stories, as they unfold what it is like to suffer from debilitating mental illness from the inside out and how it manifests itself.

But I have also written my memoirs in a style that I hope will be compelling and sometimes shocking reads for anyone interested in memoirs with a twist, so that I can reach more people.

I really hope to encourage more celebrities to come out about BPD, depression or other mental illnesses.

Outside of work, I love eating out and reviewing restaurants, travel, days out, campaigning for the precious Orang-utan and the issues of unsustainable palm oil production, running six websites of my own and seeing my family. I also enjoy reading, theatre, films, TV and cooking and when I can calm my mind down, just relaxing!

Website(s)
Author Home Page Link
Link To Book On Amazon

Your Social Media Links
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6525174.Amanda_Green
https://www.facebook.com/AmandaGreenAuthor
https://twitter.com/AmandaGreenUK