According to the NIMH, almost twenty percent of American adults live with a mental illness. From social anxiety and depression to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, mental illness is becoming more prevalent in today’s society and everyday dialogue.

To combat the continuous misunderstandings about this topic, authors Zack McDermott (Gorilla & The Bird) and Esmé Weijun Wang (The Collected Schizophrenias, The Border of Paradise) have relived their highs and lows in the pages of their work to not only break the stigma of mental illness, but also to humanize it. They were joined by author and cultural critic Isaac Fitzgerald (The Rumpus, BuzzFeed Books) in this discussion of mental health and literature today.

The onstage discussion was followed by a Q&A with the audience and a book signing. 

This event was co-sponsored by GWU’s Counseling & Psychological Services as part of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation’s Literary Conversations series. Counseling staff were available for consultation following the event.

DATE | February 27, 2020 at 7:00 PM
LOCATION |  Jack Morton Auditorium, 805 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20052