304: Rachel Steinman: Inherited...A Memoir of 4 Family Suicides

Rachel Steinman is the debut author of “Inherited: An Insane Family Memoir,” coming out soon. Described as a literary Jackie Collins, Rachel’s writing is steamy and confessional while remaining poignant and inspirational. Rachel received her Bachelor's in Psychology from UC Santa Barbara and her Masters in Education from UCLA. She’s written a treatment for a TV series based on her book and is working on adapting the story to become a serial podcast. When she’s not writing personal essays, she's writing editorial copy part-time for a luxury lifestyle business. Rachel lives in Los Angeles with her Internet marketing genius and hilarious husband, their athletic, musical and bright teenage daughters (13 and 16), and their ridiculously cute rescue puppy.

I reached out to Rachel after she shared part of her story in a Facebook group we’re in.  She shared that she was writing a memoir about four suicides in her family and her path to mental health advocacy.  Rachel’s family story is tragic, but not without some valuable lessons.  And her journey in uncovering the layers of her family story is beyond compelling.  I am so grateful she agreed to come on the show and share her story with us.

Listen in to hear Rachel share:

• How she found her grandfather’s unfinished memoir that told the story of 4 family suicides
• How learning her family history helped her destigmatize mental illness
• The importance of teaching your kids about their families stories, traumas, and risk factors
• How family trauma becomes a part of our DNA
• How she faced her family after writing about their darkest moments – and strengthened strained relationships

Links Mentioned:

• Find Rachel’s writing on Medium Rachel Steinman
• Follow Rachel on Twitter
• Connect to resources at The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): NAMI

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