Overwhelmed and institutionalized by dark and self-destructive voices, the author learns to overcome her auditory hallucinations by calling them the neighbors. The other weapon she uses to reclaim her self-worth is writing and gifting others with her poetry. Living with the Neighbors is a hybrid memoir of prose and poetry that traces the author’s journey through severe mental illness and into recovery.
This intimate portrayal of what it is like to live with this condition, begins at a peer-run, farmhouse retreat located in the Green Mountains of Vermont where nature, a river, and her poetry become sources of healing.
Here is a book full of inspiration for anyone who struggles with self-esteem issues, shame, and self-doubt. The author’s battle with post-traumatic stress (PTSD) resulting from sexual assault lies at the root cause of her hearing voices. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men will experience sexual violence that includes physical contact at some point in their lives, leaving the victim feeling scared, angry, guilty, anxious, and sad. In some cases, it leads to madness.
In Jodi’s case, it led to an invasion of her consciousness by incredibly angry and life-threatening audio-hallucinations in the form of men’s voices. Jodi dubbed them the neighbors to divide and protect her mind from their chaos. They led her to suicide attempts and electro-shock therapy as a cure.
Living with the Neighbors is a trial by fire, a tempering, and a resistance to seeming external forces that sought to destroy her. Jodi Girouard’s memoir of prose and her vivid poetry tell a story of pain, suffering, acceptance, determination, and eventual success that soars above the typical range of recovery stories. Her peaks and valleys of depression and redemption are phenomenal and written like an adventure tale.
