Devout: A Memoir of Doubt

An eye-opening memoir that reconciles the author’s bipolar disorder diagnosis and her Evangelical faith to create a new framework for which to live. In this revelatory memoir seeking to bridge the gap between science and spirituality, Anna Gazmarian tells the story of how her Evangelical upbringing in Winston Salem, North Carolina, provided an inadequate framework to understand the mental health diagnosis she received, and the work she had to do to find proper medical treatment while also maintaining her faith. When Anna is diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2011, she’s faced with a conundrum: while the diagnosis provides clarity about her manic and depressive episodes, growing up in an Evangelical community means that her diagnosis is regarded as an affliction of the spirit rather than a medical condition. In the next ten years, we follow Anna on her journey to reframe her understanding of mental health to expand the limits of what her religious faith can offer. In a society that pits our devotion to a higher power against a belief in medicine, Devout: A Memoir of Doubt is a necessary narrative to show that the pursuit in our mental, emotional, psychological, and spiritual well-being is all governed by faith, and our fear of falling short makes us all human.