Amy Crider Marks Mental Health Awareness Month With Memoir Catching an Orange, Releasing April 2026
Amy Crider. Photo credit: Stone Watters
The Award-Winning Author Explores Bipolar Disorder, Marriage, and the Far-Reaching Impact of Mental Illness in a Gripping Reflection on Love and Survival
LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, February 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, award-winning author Amy Crider announces the upcoming release of her memoir, Catching an Orange, scheduled for publication in April 2026. The memoir offers a candid, deeply personal account of Crider’s life with Bipolar Disorder and her first marriage to a husband who lived for more than a decade with undiagnosed schizophrenia.
To preorder copies of Catching an Orange, follow this link: https://bit.ly/4qj2jgD
“Catching an Orange was written after the death of a psychiatrist I knew for only a few days, but whose passing unlocked decades of memories I had never fully shared,” Crider says. “After his death, those memories came flooding back. Written as my final letter to him, the memoir reflects on mental illness, love, survival, and the unseen emotional toll carried by those closest to the experience as I delve into the complexities of my first husband and our marriage.”
After being released from a psychiatric ward in January 1993, Crider continued writing to her psychiatrist, Dr. L., for more than 30 years. During that time, she never openly discussed her first husband. Living on a $400-per-month disability check, Crider remained in the marriage with hopes of stability and a better future. Her husband went undiagnosed for 11 years, and when Crider sought treatment for her own Bipolar Disorder, the shift in her healing altered the dynamics of the relationship.
Upon her release, a nurse invited her to stay in touch. She began writing letters to update them on her life. Those letters evolved into a decades-long habit of reflection and storytelling. Following Dr. L.’s death, Crider knew it was time to confront and document that chapter of her life.
With Catching an Orange, Crider brings renewed attention to the complexities of mental illness, personal accountability, and the courage required to choose healing, even when it comes at great personal cost.
“I wrote my story to show that mental illness does not only affect the person diagnosed. It affects everyone around them,” she explains. “When I made the choice to get help, the relationship changed in ways neither of us could have imagined. Once charismatic and thoughtful, he became angry, seeking to undermine my recovery. It took 11 years for him to receive a diagnosis, and I stayed four years after that. Ultimately, I realized people have to seek treatment for themselves. No one can force them. For the sake of my own mental health, I ended our 14-year marriage 25 years ago. I remain in contact as a support person, but my ex remains untreated and does not accept his diagnosis.”
Catching an Orange follows Crider’s earlier literary success. Her debut novel, "Disorder," which explored mental illness through a murder-mystery framework, won the University of New Orleans Press Lab Prize, establishing her as a compelling voice in contemporary literature.
“I wrote Disorder following a stint in the psych ward,” Crider says. “It was inspired by my manic episodes and my mental health journey, but framed as an entertaining murder mystery. Mental illness is a profound condition that affects us all differently. I wanted to use my experience to create something meaningful and help others battling similar struggles.”
Readers Praise Disorder
“This taut, fast-paced psychological thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat. Disorder is the first novel I’ve read where the protagonist struggles with bipolar disorder. It offers a powerful and eye-opening perspective, especially for readers unfamiliar with mental illness. I highly recommend Amy Crider’s Disorder,” Amazon Reviewer
About Amy Crider
Amy Crider is an award-winning author and playwright whose work began by centering on mental health, resilience, and lived experience. Her writing confronts stigma while offering insight into the realities faced by those living with mental illness and those impacted by it. Since her novel Disorder debuted, her work has been wide-ranging. Circling back to her experience with mental illness, Catching an Orange is her forthcoming memoir, releasing in April 2026.
To learn more about Crider and her impactful work, click here: https://www.amycrider.com/home
Amy Crider is available for interviews.
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