Pellegrino, 1

 
 
Creative Literary Analysis 
By Lexie Pellegrino 
EN12 
 
● The Role of Truth in Writing about 
Mental Illness 
● Finishing the Story 
 
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Lexie Pellegrino
Prof. Hosten
EN12
2 May 2018
Creative Literary Analysis Essay
The Role of Truth in Writing About Mental Illness, and Does it Even Matter?

In class we have been discussing memoirs. According to the dictionary, a memoir is a

“historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources”

(Merriam-Webster). With this definition in mind, it is fair to conclude that a memoir should be

truthful. Yet, there are famous memoirs that abandon this idea and make an ambiguous truth. A

piece such as Lauren Slater’s ​Lying: A Metaphorical Memoir​, about a girl with mental illness

telling the story of her life, and it is still classified as a memoir. Every memoir has some kind of

allegiance to the truth, but Slater’s book redefines what truth is and how it is told. To prove why

this is true, I am going to be referencing James Frey’s book entitled ​A Million Little Pieces ​that

was originally published as a memoir to later find out that it was not a truthful story at all. I am

also going to explore the role of truth in writing about mental illness, if it matters, and how

literary language, such as metaphors, reflect the actual title of Slater’s piece.

Mental illness is a sensitive topic in our society, even though there are movements that

are making it more socially acceptable. A person cannot openly say they have a mental illness

and then be expected to be treated the same as they would be if they had never said it at all.

Unfortunately, there is stigma attached to mental illness and psychological disorders. Many

people with psychological disorders struggle with getting others to believe they have the illness,
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since it is not visible. The stereotypes about people with mental illness include being dangerous,

unpredictable, and incompetent, when in reality, people with mental illness are usually the

victims of violence, and work just as hard as anyone else while also dealing with their

psychological disorder (​American Psychiatric Association, 2013). ​Some say people with mental

health issues have to work harder on everyday tasks because of the mental handicap. A

psychological disorder is characterized as ​a “clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s

cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Mental

disorders as well as any physical maladies are presently studied with the biopsychosocial

approach. This approach ​considers biological, psychological, and social/environmental factors

and their complex interactions to understand physical, mental, and emotional disabilities.

In Slater’s book, ​Lying: A Metaphorical Memoir,​ she begins the first chapter with two

measly words that say, “I exaggerate.” She then declares that she has epilepsy. From a medical

standpoint, epilepsy is “a neurological disorder marked by sudden recurrent episodes of sensory

disturbance, loss of consciousness, or convulsions, associated with abnormal electrical activity in

the brain” (Mayo Clinic). Epilepsy can either be a genetic disorder, or an acquired brain injury.

Knowing this, the role of truth about mental illness in Slater’s so called memoir does not

seem reliable as a real condition, but as a figurative tool to her writing. Due to the fact that she

declared that she may have been using epilepsy as a metaphor for other illnesses, suggesting that

she may really have had Munchausen Syndrome. This is a mental disorder in which a person

repeatedly and deliberately acts as if he or she has a physical or mental illness to garner attention

(WebMD). In the context of her book, having this syndrome makes more contextual sense, since

one of the main focuses of the book is that Lauren is always trying to get attention from her
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mother. She explains, “Perhaps I was, and still am, a pretender, a person who creates illnesses

because she needs time, attention, touch, because she knows no other way of telling her life’s

tale. Munchausen’s is a fascinating psychiatric disorder, its sufferers makers of myths that are

still somehow true, the illness a conduit to convey real pain” (88). After addressing this, she hints

that Munchausen’s may be another metaphor to describe the disrupted life of having mental

illness.

Now what we really want to know from a literary standpoint is if writing about mental

illness truthfully in a book classified as nonfiction even matters. Another author by the name of

James Frey published a memoir in 2003 entitled ​A Million Little Pieces. ​It later became news in

2005 - 2006 that Frey had lied about his past, portraying the book as a truthful account of his life.

This epidemic became the biggest controversy that one of the most respected tv talk show hosts,

Oprah Winfrey, had to endure, after putting Frey’s book on her book club. She represented the

millions of readers that, “felt duped” and “betrayed”, by not only the book in question, but by the

many lies the author told after to defend his book (New York Times). Frey admitted to Winfrey

in their interview that he had made a mistake. He described himself developing a tough-guy

image as a “coping mechanism” to help him address his alcohol and drug addiction (New York

Times). He said that “instead of being an introspective as I should have been, I clung to that

image” (New York Times). This interview went on to Oprah calling him a liar and questioning

his motives.

So what does this mean about telling the truth in a memoir? Taking this story into

account, we can argue that the importance of the truth is more for the well being of the readers,

and not the author. Through the uncovering of different information that proved James Frey to be
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lying, he became defensive, but not guilty. Memoirs are written to leave a creative legacy of a

person’s life. In addition, the relationship the reader has to a memoir may be one of the most

important. For example, a catharsis can be achieved by both reading and writing a memoir. One

may be confused or troubled and want to explore their emotions, and learn some life lessons in

order to cleanse oneself of a situation. One may also want to appreciate a person’s life journey,

and in order to do that, it must be true. If a memoir is not true it can take an emotional toll on a

reader who invested so much of their trust and energy into a book. So we can see that with the

emotional toll Frey’s book had on Winfrey and many of his readers, it is important write a

truthful memoir.

This was not the case for Lauren Slater. Slater’s readers never felt duped by her writing,

but more intrigued by the mystery behind it. It created buzz in the literary world and scholars

started creating works on whether or not Slater was truly epileptic and how important the facts

were to her writing. Some scholars such as Lindsey Grubbs analyzed Slater’s writing and came

to a conclusion that, “Slater’s ultimate claim is that whether or not she truly is epileptic is

irrelevant, and that speaking metaphorically about one’s experiences can convey the ‘truth’ of

the matter as well as or better than speaking only about diagnostic ‘facts’” (Grubbs). It is right

that the truth is flexible, and metaphors can convey an experience, be it in a roundabout way, just

as well as facts can. Other reviews state that, “not only are there a multiplicity of facts to be

given, rather than any one central fact, but more important, the prioritizing of one stance or fact

over another in the telling of a story is always ideologically loaded” (Perring). I believe with

these reviews it is fair to say that Slater finds it more honest to emphasize uncertainty. If the truth

is still being written, even if it is unfamiliar to the reader, I think the author has the artistic liberty
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to form the book how she wants. This can make the book even more interesting to the reader

since only the author knows all of the facts, and leaves her audience guessing

As noted before, metaphors in Slater’s writing are a crucial part of her storytelling. The

first thing that we notice is the subtitle of the memoir. ​A Metaphorical Memoir.​ Does this mean

that the title ​Lying​ is the metaphor for the memoir, or is the entire memoir made out of

metaphors? Another question that confused readers may ask is: What is it about epilepsy that

Slater finds appealing as a metaphor? Joe Bonomo, a college professor, discusses with his class

that, “​The loss of control, the necessity of learning how to fall, the unwanted attention, the

compulsion to seize at, to fill a void by creating myths about ourselves, the messiness of the

body are all truths of the human experience that lie well beyond, yet are figuratively analogous

to, the specific illness of epilepsy” (Bonomo). Metaphor can be an alternate form of honesty.

How is one supposed to write a memoir that captures an ever changing persona? A person can be

different with strangers than they are with their family or friends or even than they are by

themselves. Who is to say which one is the real you? Slater claims that, “the nature of diagnosis

is such that in attempting to communicate experience, a metaphor is no less authentic than a

diagnostic label” (Slater). Since the author never claims the narrative elements of her text as

objectively true, she technically is not lying.

After developing a new and deeper understanding of Lauren Slater’s ​Lying: A

Metaphorical Memoir​, we can conclude that even Slater has created some kind of allegiance to

the truth. She shows us that we do not need to stick to pure facts to make an interesting and even

truthful memoir. Compared to James Frey’s ​A Million Little Pieces, ​that proved the importance

of the audience’s relationship to the writing, as well as the importance of the writing needing to
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be truthful. The role of truth in writing about mental illness does not matter in that there are so

many facts to be given in writing that it is acceptable to prioritize thoughts and put the most

important moments on the page, while also giving it a creative spin. If there were not figurative

language in memoirs then the genre would not be as interesting, and may as well be written as a

bulleted list of things that happened in one’s lifetime. By writing her book in the way she did,

Slater reminded her audience not only of the importance of figurative language, but also the

issues underlying mental illness.

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Bibliography

“Chapter 8: Memory - Chapter 14: Psychological Disorders.” Exploring Psychology, by David

G. Myers and C. Nathan DeWall, 10th ed., Worth Publishers, Macmillan Learning, 2016. This
textbook from my psychology class introduced me to psychological disorders, what their
symptoms are, how to diagnose them, and how to treat them. This helps me with writing about
the truth in writing about mental illness because it gives me a deeper understanding as to what
psychological disorders consist of. This book also provides me with insight on memory.

“Epilepsy.” ​Mayo Clinic​, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 10 Mar. 2018,
www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/epilepsy/symptoms-causes/syc-20350093. This website
helped me gain a better understanding of what epilepsy is so I could tie the medical condition
better into my paper to strengthen some arguments about Slater.

Freeman, Mark. “Must Memoirs Lie?” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 5 Apr. 2010,
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hindsight/201004/must-memoirs-lie. This short article talks
about whether it is ok or not to lie in a memoir. It also talks about the role of memory in a
memoir. Using the role of memory, I will go back to my psychology book a cite what it is that
makes a memory true or false.

Goldsmith, Francisca. "Slater, Lauren. Lying: a metaphorical memoir." Kliatt, May 2002, p. 34.
Academic OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A107124442/AONE?u=a04fu&sid=AONE&xid=aab7bac9.
Accessed 26 Mar. 2018.
This book review was helpful to me to get a clearer depiction as to what other people thought
Slater was trying to express in her story as well as giving me keywords to search in order to
widen my topic.

Grubbs, Lindsey. “Lauren Slater and the Experts: Malingering, Masquerade, and the Disciplinary
Control of Diagnosis.” Lauren Slater and the Experts: Malingering, Masquerade, and the
Disciplinary Control of Diagnosis, John Hopkins University Press, 2015,
pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3a16/9b87becada704cfdabfcc74c4ae5ff8ab94b.pdf. This scholarly
project about looking at Lauren Slater and mental illness provided me with a primary source as
well as important insight into the truth to her writing. I believe I will be citing this source a lot in
my writing as well taking the references it used and look for more information about the topic
with them.
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“Munchausen Syndrome.” ​WebMD​, WebMD,

www.webmd.com/mental-health/munchausen-syndrome#1. This source helped me gain a better
understand of the diseases Slater talked about in her book. With this deeper understanding I
could further support my arguments of mental illness in memoirs.

Perring, Christian. “Review - Lying - Personality Disorders.” Mental Health and Wellness
Information at Metapsychology Online Reviews, 31 Aug. 2000,
metapsychology.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=book&id=372&cn=393. This review
was written by a mental health professional, and within the review he decides to lie himself. He
is not lying about the content, but just the first sentence. He talks about the importance of truth in
writing a memoir that contains mental health such as this which helps me understand further
about this topic.

Vaknin, Sam. “Pseudologica Fantastica: I Lie and I Exaggerate Everything - Malignant Self
Love - Personality Disorders.” Edited by Harry Croft, HealthyPlace, 2 June 2016,
www.healthyplace.com/personality-disorders/malignant-self-love/pseudologica-fantastica-i-lie-a
nd-i-exaggerate-everything/. This blog post on a mental health website comes straight from
someone who lies. He explains why he lies which helps me form theories as to if Lauren Slater
and him have anything in common or if they lied in a different way, or if she didn't lie at all. He
also turns it back on the reader and asks if we believe him which I thought was an interesting
point.

Wyatt, Edward. “Author Is Kicked Out of Oprah Winfrey's Book Club.” ​The New York Times​,
The New York Times, 27 Jan. 2006, www.nytimes.com/2006/01/27/books/27oprah.html. This
article helped me gather information about James Frey and his book scandal to then compare it to
Slater and the importance of truth in writing a memoir.
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Lexie Pellegrino
Prof. Hosten
EN12
12 April 2018
Part Two: Finishing the Story

Epilepsy shoots your memory to hell, so take what I say, or don’t. This I think I recall. One week
after Barbados, after her failed music, the vodka, her empty eyes in the hotel room, I woke from
a long seizure on the floor. Every muscle ached. There was blood in my mouth. I opened my
eyes and saw her standing above me, staring at me, probably, for a long long time, as just a few
days earlier, in the Basien dawn, I had stared at her. I had looked into that hotel room and seen
how all her energy was really deadness; not me. I was a girl in motion. I was wrong and dark and
full of smells. When a seizure rolled through me, it didn’t feel like mine; it felt like hers--her
ramrod body sweetening into spasm. She gave it all to me, and I returned it all to her, this wild,
rollicking, hopeful life, this Chuck Berry blast, all striving sunk to the bottom of the brain’s deep
sea; crack a claw, Mom.
Rest with me when it’s over.
This, the gift I gave you,
How we held each other.
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Pull myself together? Please. I wouldn’t be me if I pulled myself together, or would I? Is
this me? Or is this the me I am supposed to be, the one who is pulled together? It is definitely not
my Mom. I smelled jasmine again while sitting on my bed. I watched the curtains dance and I
heard the colors of my favorite CD playing, and I was back in my happy place. For a little while.
Before the next seizure hit. This one was mine, it was all mine. I was stuck in my own mind, as I
always am, walking through the depths of my brain. There’s no way out. Why would there be? I
found a window and I suddenly smelled the jasmine again. My pillows were knocked to the
ground and my blankets were crumpled to the foot of my bed as if to make room for me. This
one was mine because my mom wasn’t there. I haven’t seen her in awhile actually. She went half
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way across the country to be the world’s next best chef. I hope she makes lobster. She’s always
performing. As if my epilepsy wasn’t performance enough for her, a Broadway show, a world
class act, a #1 billboard hit. My father ran into my room to check to see if I was ok, or at least not
seizing. Being ok will take a lot more than a checkup. I went downstairs to play the piano my
mom never let me touch. The white keys fitting perfectly in between the black keys, like a yin
yang, or a panda, or a zebra, not one more important than the other, but fitting together, while
sounding different tones at the same time. I was amazing, just as my mom was. A natural. And
then my eyes went dark again.
Steinway wasn’t going to rest with me.
I couldn’t see how many fingers my mom was holding up.
And then I saw her.