Merging the Two Worlds of Schizophrenia with Author Mindy Tsai

In 2004, today's special guest Mindy Tsai began hearing a voice in her head, someone she called "Joe." She found signs everywhere that seemed to hold mysterious clues meant only for her. What she didn't know at the time was that she was experiencing her first schizophrenic episode. For the next decade, she oscillated between two worlds - a normal life and a secret voice-filled one -- until she began the journey of merging her two worlds back into one. In her memoir, Becoming Whole, Mindy documents her onset of schizophrenia and the subsequent years spent learning about it and how to live with it. It is her journey to finding solace. Although 75 million worldwide and 3.2 million in the United States suffer from schizophrenia, Mindy's story uniquely shows how, contrary to popular opinion, not everyone with schizophrenia stops living independently. This book speaks to those suffering from the illness, those who are isolated by any mental illness, or anyone who has felt caught between two worlds. Mindy Tsai was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and moved to New York City at age fourteen. She holds a master's degree from Cornell and has worked in software technology.