I had heard of borderline personality before starting on this book, not only because a close member of my family had been diagnosed with this, but also because I had taken just enough psychology courses to understand the term sufficiently enough to jokingly tease with a close friend about someone who I really thought was incredibly difficult to deal with, “I’m pretty sure she’s borderline.” But I never really understood what it meant to be borderline. A close member of my family was diagnosed with it, and I remember he told me years back about his fabulous new “dialectical behavior therapy” and how it was really helping him. I was glad, but again didn’t think too much about it. This particular person I loved very dearly, despite the fact that he and I experienced totally different versions of reality, and that was how I thought of him, as someone I loved who experience reality completely different than I did. This book was incredibly enlightening. Kiera brought the humanity into a diagnosis. I laughed, I cringed, I teared up a little. She was so relatable at one point while prepping this book, I called a psychiatrist friend of mine in a panic, asking her..”Do you think I might have Borderline Personality Disorder?” She laughed at me. It is always a tell-tale sign of a good book when the reader loses himself a little in the characters; when the readers identity merges with the characters the author has written about, and this book definitely drew me in and allowed me to lose myself. It was a great privilege to perform. I went along for a ride in Kiera’s life and struggles. The stigma of this disease causes such a conflict for those trying to get treatment. After finishing this book, I called my brother, who is the one diagnosed with this affliction and asked him a multitude of questions. “Is this how you have felt? Is this something you have done? Was this your experience with your diagnosis?” “Yes, Yes, Yes,”he said. I asked him if he would mind if I mentioned him and the fact that he has borderline in my blog and he said, “NO, Please do. The more people talk about this and are aware of it, the less damaging the stigma becomes.” I think this book will make a positive impact on anyone who reads or listens to it, even if you don’t know anyone with a mental disorder. Kiera was endearing and funny and passionate and kept me intrigued. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Carla Mercer-Meyer