This April, I will be launching an interview podcast called A Real Affliction: BPD, Culture, and Stigma. It explores how we live with, treat, advocate for, write about, and conceptualize borderline personality disorder, as well as common co-occurring challenges like complex PTSD, eating disorders, and substance use disorder, all of which I’ve experienced. My guests and I will also discuss how literature, film, television, photography, dance, philosophy, the history of medicine, feminist and disability studies, nature, and bioethics reflect, illuminate, and impact the experience and cultural perceptions of BPD. The goal of the podcast is to increase access to effective, compassionate care.

My line-up of guests includes Jessie Shepherd, author of Millie the Cat Has Borderline Personality Disorder; Dr. Sara Masland, a leading researcher of BPD and how stigma creates barriers to care; Paula Tusiani-Eng and Baylie McKnight, co-founders of Emotions Matter and the BPD Society of British Columbia, two non-profits supporting people with the disorder; videogame designer and mental health Plushie Dreadfuls creator American McGee; Courtenay Stallings, author of Laura’s Ghost: Women Speak About Twin Peaks; Nina Shope, author of Asylum, a historical novel about 19th-century hysteria; psychotherapist Ellis Amdur; and bioethics expert Lucy Yanow. If you have experience or expertise that would fit the podcast’s focus and would like to be interviewed, please feel free to reach out to me at cynthiagrallabooks@gmail.com.

Audio trailer for the podcast featuring Ellis Amdur, Jessie Shepherd, Paula Tusiani-Eng, Baylie McKnight, and Dr. Sara Masland:

Use this link to access all episodes:

Link to the podcast website on Podbean

Episode 1: “Countering Stigma Requires Encountering Stigma” — an introduction to the podcast

Episode 2, an interview with Baylie McKnight, co-founder of the BPD Society of British Columbia, will be released on May 1, 2024