Setting the Wire: A Memoir of Postpartum Psychosis

by Sarah C. Townsend

Setting the Wire is a memoir of postpartum psychosis and a meditation on containment: what we hold and what holds us together. A lyric exploration of motherhood, mental illness, and familial ties, Sarah C. Townsend’s debut work weaves together personal anecdote, film, music, visual art, and psychology. Setting the Wire is a visceral reflection on the experience of fragmentation as a young psychotherapist and new mother.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

129 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2019

Reviews

[Angelisa Russo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in one sitting, still taking my time on each page. Townsend writes memory in the way it’s experienced - in fragments and waves. She braids music, art, and psychology exquisitely into her narrative. I slowly devoured each sentence. A stunning debut.

[Samantha Kolber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Setting the Wire: A Memoir of Postpartum Psychosis is a beautiful book--from the cover to the chapter layout--that vacillates between prose and poetry, reality and madness. In this slim lyrical volume a woman who just gave birth reconciles new motherhood and its demands, her own memories of a fractured childhood, and postpartum depression that leads to psychosis. It is wonderfully written; it is trauma made into art. It’s something we should all aspire to.

[Priscilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This entire book is constructed from within the fragmented perspective of a psychotic interior landscape. I was dazzled by how each section is committed to at least one essential nugget of truth, usually in the last powerful sentence. I know I'm going to return to these jeweled insights, like "Mental illness is hard to tolerate, no matter what side you're on." (pg 56) Or, "We all seize whatever protection we can find from pain, even if it takes a whole parade of noise to numb our contact." (pg 57) Literary and artistic references flourish. The title of the memoir references the Frenchman Philippe Petit's astonishing unprotected tight wire walk between New York City's Twin Towers in 1974. The obvious metaphor that springs to mind is the dangerous balancing act Petit undertook at dizzying heights and grave death-defying risk. This intense reading experience resonates with me because I've been through it personally. And it's spot-on.

[Debbie Hagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Searing in its honesty, elegant in its poetry and prose, and heartbreaking in the this new mother's pain, this book gripped me from start to finish. I love how Townsend uses the image of Philippe Petit (the French high wire artist who walked between the Twin Towers in 1971) to illustrate the tenuous, dangerous position she was in, experiencing postpartum psychosis after the difficult birth of her first daughter. Townsend's story is a quest for answers and of courage to recover and bereunited with her daughter and family.

[Kate Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly well written book. I took my time reading so I could appreciate the perfectly crafted sentences. I particularly loved how the writer visualizes the idea of being a whole being. The book is truly a piece of art. I highly recommend reading.

[Lauren Thibodeaux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having suffered from Postpartum Psychosis, I wanted to read of someone’s experience. There were things that I dealt with that the author did too, but this was definitely HER story and a memoir. It was very well-written. It was easy to read and grasping. She was so raw, which was good. She looked back on her childhood, her parents, and past as well to connect it to her postpartum experience. She didn’t offer ways to really deal with having had Postpartum Psychosis, but that’s okay. That’s not the meaning of telling her story.

[Elizabeth Felicetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poetic memoir reads like a series of micro memoirs. Sensual, disturbing, beautiful. Picked it up because I knew the author a long time ago, but couldn't put it down until the end. HIGHLY recommend!

[Marin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Townsend's series of fragments beautifully convey the confusion and sense of loss that accompany her period of psychosis that followed the birth of her first daughter. The book is a revealing look at the experience of psychosis and a testament to the trauma it can inflict.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw and beautiful.

[Candace Whitney Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meditative and crafted with painful precision. An important and inspiring read.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astonishing, beautiful and searingly painful to read.