"[Tanya] Frank hangs her intense, readable journey on…the healing power of nature and community.… This book will be a balm for relatives of people with mental illness.… Frank’s writing is fresh with keenly observed details."
― Beth Macy, New York Times Book Review.
About Tanya
From the time I was old enough to decipher words, my Yiddisher mama told me stories, showing me what it meant to bear witness to personal narratives. Growing up during the Thatcher era on a council housing estate, where poverty was rife, I was not considered “college material,” and left school with no qualifications. It…
Reviews for ZIG-ZAG BOY
“By turns an eloquent meditation on the power of nature and a terrifying exposé on the hellscape of parenting a mentally ill child into young adulthood…[Tanya] Frank hangs her intense, readable journey on…the healing power of nature and community.… This book will be a balm for relatives of people with mental illness.… Frank’s writing is…
Portfolio
I am happy to have been able to showcase my work in The Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, KCRW UnFictional, KCET Departures, Sinister Wisdom, and other literary journals. Check out my portfolio and read some of my recent work.
I write on the intersection of motherhood, disability and immigration, using memoir and personal essay as a tool to aid self-expression and recovery, and to fight the deep-rooted prejudice our society holds against psychosis.
My New York Times essay "Unmoored by a Psychotic Break" made me realise that I had a book in me. ZIG-ZAG BOY: MADNESS, MOTHERHOOD & LETTING GO was published by Harper Collins UK and W.W. Norton USA in February 2023.