PAWTUCKET, R.I., July 1, 2010 — Of all the things I have lost, my mind is the one I miss the most. I have lost this mind about twenty times, and every time I lost it, I found it back to live an unprecedented and happy life full of hope and faith in God…
So begins the life story of Stephen Kwame in his memoir "An African Living with Depression in America" (published by iUniverse) that begins with his arrival on a college campus in Minnesota in 1974. Over the next 35 years Kwame would struggle with mental illness that began just weeks after arriving in America from Ghana, West Africa. As devastating and stigmatic as this was, he didn't allow his adversity to stand in the way of getting an education and leading a good life. Kwame documents his struggles with several severe episodes that could have destroyed him, but instead, he focused on his faith in God, his hope for a better life, his passion for living, his strong will and sheer determination, and with that, he finished college and graduate school.
Kwame's 35-year struggle with depression took him to several asylums in the U.S. and Africa, where he had returned to teach. He went on to marry and father three children who have flourished, even through his periodic health lapses. Through hard work, he has built a nice home in Ghana and bought a house in Pawtucket, R.I., with the help of many compassionate people including his physicians, friends and counselors, whom he considers part of his extended family.
As one who has faced the difficult struggles of mental illness, he is an advocate for the mentally ill who suffer silently through derogation and stigma, within and outside of the justice and health care systems. "Mental illness can affect anybody whether you are prominent or not, but it can be treated and transcended as this book indicates," he said. Readers of all backgrounds will find a truer understanding and awareness, and find hope, in dealing with mental illness – or any physical affliction, addiction, or personal struggle – after reading Kwame's story.
About the Author
Stephen Kwame has a bachelor's degree from Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, Minn.) and a master's from the Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio). He taught at TI Ahmadiyya Secondary School in Kumasi, Ghana, for 10 years and also worked at Texas Instruments in Attleboro, Mass., for 10 years. He has been an adjunct professor at Rhode Island College for 17 years and teaches in the Providence School District. He lives in Pawtucket, R.I. This is his first book.
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