Holding It Together: Surviving a Legacy of Mental Illness

When there is just the thinnest thread of hope, what is it that keeps someone holding on?

In Holding It Together: Surviving a Legacy of Mental Illness, award-winning poet Joan Kantor tells the story of how she did just that and, in so doing, gives others suffering from mental illness a sense of validation and hope. Kantor, who struggled with severe clinical depression and anxiety before finding the right treatment, chronicles her journey in a collection that, while sad and at times even desperate, is full of honesty, passion, and dignity.

Kantor’s work is a celebration of survival. In Holding It Together, she shares the darkest of times in an effort to show others what it’s like to suffer from severe mental illness. Her message will not only connect with others who’ve had similar experiences, but also educate family and friends, health care providers, educators, mental health support groups, and others.

Joan Kantor promotes poetry in the community through readings, workshops, mentoring, and sharing her poetry through public television. She also performs at art museums and galleries in collaboration with visual artists and musicians. In Holding It Together, she uses the power of the written word to set herself free. In sharing her story, she not only hopes it will help others do the same but also that it will bring about greater understanding and respect for those who suffer from mental illness.