A Real Affliction: BPD, Culture, and Stigma15 Maalis 2025

Still Life: The Posthumously Published Diary of Lara Gilbert

What can we learn from the posthumously published diary of Lara Gilbert, a young Canadian woman with BPD traits who suffered from complex PTSD in the 1990s? In this episode, I read excerpts from I Might Be Nothing: Journal Writing, a selection of writings from the 3200-page diary of Lara Gilbert, which I read in the archives of the University of Victoria. Lara was a brilliant and talented writer, and I wanted some of her words to be heard. While her story is tragic, her experience is a reminder that life is always hard, no matter which era you live in, but we have far more treatment options for BPD and complex PTSD than we did 30 years ago. It is also a reminder that our words live on.

This episode concludes the first year of the podcast.

Trigger warning: This episode talks about CSA, rape, and suicide.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources:

Walter Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”

Jennifer Douglas et al., “‘Treat Them with the Reverence of Archivists’: Records Work, Grief Work, and Relationship Work in the Archives”

Lara Gilbert, I Might Be Nothing: Journal Writings

Cynthia Gralla, “Boxed Memories,” Room, Vol. 46, No. 3 (“Ghosts” issue), September 2023

Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji

Murasaki Shikibu, The Diary of Murasaki Shikibu

Bea Tusiani, Pamela Tusiani, and Paula Tusiani-Eng, Remnants of a Life on Paper: A Mother and Daughter’s Struggle with Borderline Personality Disorder

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Jaksot(30)

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Communication strategies for people with BPD and their treatment providers

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“You can't necessarily compare your trauma to someone else's”: Social worker Samantha Dellosso

How does the health care system condition how we see our mental health treatment and diagnoses? In this interview—an excerpt from a much longer conversation—I talk with Samantha Dellosso, a social wor...

28 Elo 202533min

“You’re talking about me”: Sara from the Bold Beautiful Borderline podcast

How does BPD impact reproductive choices? In this candid interview, Sara Abbott, the host and producer of the #1 Bold Beautiful Borderline podcast, talks with me about how BPD is affecting her decisio...

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"I learn about resilience from my garden": Solara Goldwynn of Royal Roads University

What is the relationship between BPD and food security? BPD and food insecurity are prevalent among university students, and research shows that poor diets, both in terms of insufficient calories and ...

1 Maalis 202529min

“We need a society where we don’t step over mentally ill people”: Discussing bioethics with Lucy Yanow

Why do people living with mental illness, including BPD, need to think about bioethics? Because ordinary citizens can now make life-and-death decisions for themselves and others. As laws and regulatio...

15 Helmi 202531min

Complex trauma is in our house now: Courtenay Stallings, author of Laura’s Ghost: Women Speak About Twin Peaks

Why is Laura Palmer a heroine for many of us? Because David Lynch's depiction of her in the Twin Peaks franchise was one of the first and remains one of the most powerful depictions of complex trauma ...

1 Helmi 202542min