‘This book is beautiful and it is brave. We can only salute the courage with which all these writers have let us into their lives, to give us a glimpse into the multiple worlds of what we have described and stigmatized as mental illness. Read them.’—JERRY PINTO, author Em and the Big Hoom and Murder in Mahim

There are different sizes of bodies. There are different shades of the mind. There are different states of mind in distress. Side Effects of Living presents the words and verses of survivors, writers, poets and artists, who are struggling with a mental condition or have watched their loved ones suffer. Through first-person life experiences and moving poetry, they attempt to destigmatise mental health issues, as they describe what happens when the mind gives in—or gives up. Why does it happen, and can we do anything about it?

Refreshingly honest, always uplifting, this collection urges us to reject the shame and blame that often accompanies mental illness.