The Recap

Miriam Feldman is an artist, writer, and mental health activist who splits her time between her Los Angeles atelier and her farm in rural Washington state. She is a mother to four adult children, including her 34-year-old son Nick, who has schizophrenia. With an MFA in painting from Otis Art Institute, Miriam founded Demar Feldman Studios, Inc., a wildly successful mural and decorative art company, in 1988. With a clientele of business and entertainment elite in Los Angeles and abroad, her work can be found everywhere from Wolfgang Puck’s Spago Beverly Hills to Jay Leno’s Beverly Hills home. When her son Nick was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2004, Miriam became an activist and a writer. With first-hand knowledge of the woeful state of our mental health system, she decided to be an advocate for those who have no voice. Miriam is active in leadership at NAMI Washington and her story is featured on the cover of their current national newsletter. She is a frequent guest on mental health podcasts and is active on Instagram where she is building a community of family and loved ones dealing with mental illness. She currently resides in Washington with her husband Craig.

In this episode, Jennifer and Mimi talk about Mimi’s journey as a mother and mental health advocate as well as the inspiration behind her book, He Came in With It, a memoir chronicling Mimi’s experience having a child who suffers from schizophrenia. They talk about the stigma surrounding mental illness and ways to eliminate the taboo nature of how society views this crucial issue. Jennifer opens up about her own struggles with depression as well as her son’s ADHD diagnosis. Finally, Mimi talks about her son Nick’s beautiful artistic ability and the ways her family used art as a form of therapy during the most harrowing times in their lives.

Episode Highlights

00:45 – Jennifer takes a moment to reflect on the first real week of 2020

02:02 – Jennifer highlights two companies she’s been collaborating with, My-Tee Girls and Fluide

05:42 – Introducing today’s guest, Mimi Feldman

07:45 – Mimi shares the story of how she had to self-tape a pitch for her book

09:57 – Mimi talks about the inspiration behind her upcoming book, He Came in With It

15:15 – Mimi recalls her son Nick’s initial diagnosis with schizophrenia and how she has coped with everything since then

18:39 – A powerful lesson Mimi learned from one of her daughters

21:29 – Jennifer opens up about her own struggles with depression

24:18 – Overcoming incomprehensible tragedy

30:07 – A life-changing chain of events for Mimi

33:23 – How Mimi utilized art as a form of therapy

36:50 – Nick’s current life

38:31 – Mimi talks about her youngest daughter, Rose

46:18 – Mimi and Jennifer talk about Mimi’s book release and fighting to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental illness

56:14 – What does Mimi think about when she hears the word ‘love’?

56:54 – Where in the world would Mimi most like to live?

58:14 – How does Mimi define serenity?

58:52 – Lightning round of questions

Tweetable Quotes

“We all go through stuff. We all have stuff. Ya know, there are kids dying of cancer. It’s all relative and I really have to beat my friends over the head with it. Like, it’s ok to complain that your car broke down. Everything isn’t measured by Nick’s schizophrenia.”

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“I like to say that I’m pathologically functional.”

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“And I said, ‘I’m crying because I miss your brother.’ And she said, ‘What do you mean you miss Nick? Nick’s not gone. Nick’s here.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, but he’s not who he was supposed to be.’ And she looked at me and she said, ‘Yeah he is. It’s just not what you thought.’”

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“As a mother, I think we feel a drive to fix it in a different way than anyone else on the planet. We grew ‘em. We brought ‘em into this world. He came out of my body and it’s my job to fix this. And there’s a part of me that won’t let go of that.”

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“The fact is when I can be most at peace is when I just accept he came in with it. This is how he was delivered to us and the Nick that I thought I was gonna have and the life that I thought he was gonna have wasn’t real. This is who he is and I have to meet him where he is.”

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“Nick was prodigious. He was going to be a famous artist. There’s really no question.”

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“One of the experiences that they (The National Alliance on Mental Illness) did everyone sat around a table an...