The Mind Thief

Maria Katsonis enjoyed a traditional Greek childhood as the daughter of European immigrants to Australia, living on top of a milk bar and sharing a bedroom with her grandmother. She was a good Greek girl throughout high school until university, when she discovered her rebellious side and abandoned nine-tenths of an economics degree for a career in the theatre.

Furthering her studies later in life, she attended Harvard and left with a Masters in Public Administration. Little did she know that, in five years' time, she would be alone on a bed in a psychiatric ward fighting for her life.

This is the powerful and moving true-life story of a high-flier who fought a terrifying battle against depression and psychosis. The Mind Thief will make you laugh, cry, gasp and smile. Written with elegance and honesty, it is a harrowing but ultimately uplifting account.

Paperback: 228pp

Publisher: Eye (July 2016)

ISBN: 9781785630194

‘Katsonis pulls no punches... The hospital chapters are written with the Greek flair for tragi-comedy, the bleakness buffered by moments of mirth and buffoonery’ Sydney Morning Herald

‘An intelligent and loving memoir of depression’ The Age

‘The value in this text is the explicit detailing of daily life in the psych ward, in suffering depression, and in the path to recovery’ Books+Publishing