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Sonja is the author of the award-winning book, An Impossible Life which details her struggles with mental illness, and was featured on CBS This Morning as a story of hope. CBS This Morning Correspondent, Dr. Tara Narula, said that Sonja’s story was “one of my most sacred and special I’ve ever done.”
Sonja is a suicide survivor with over 30 years of lived experience with mental health challenges. She is a passionate mental health advocate and one of today’s most insightful and inspirational speakers on mental health.
Her mental health advocacy work includes drug addiction recovery programs, homeless shelters, firefighters, police officers, veterans, women’s prisons, university students, and others.
Oprah Winfrey graciously participated in one of Sonja’s mental health book clubs’ discussions to inspire the women inmates at Central California Women’s Facility, the world’s largest women’s prison.
She has traveled the country speaking with Fortune 500 companies, not-for-profit organizations, government officials, advocacy groups, and top media outlets about the importance of mental health. Sonja has been an op-ed contributor in such publications as The Washington Post, HuffPost, Newsweek, The Hill, Ms. Magazine, Kevin M.D., NAMI (National Alliance Mental Illness), Oprah Daily, and others.
Sonja has been interviewed across all 50 states on local and national news about the importance of raising mental health awareness. Sonja is passionate about sharing her personal mental health journey to help individuals and organizations create open conversations around mental health. She has shared her story with millions of people.
Reviewed by Emma Megan for Readers' Favorite
This is a remarkable memoir that captures the life story of Sonja Wasden, a strong and beautiful woman who has a mental illness that affects every area of her life, including the people around her. Rachael Siddoway writes for and about her mother and the harsh reality of mental illness and how it impacted their family. The purpose of this memoir is to make people aware of the struggle and pain that mental health disorders inflict on a person, to help people understand how important it is to show more compassion. An Impossible Life: The Inspiring True Story of a Woman's Struggle from Within (The Impossible Series) by Sonja Wasden and Rachael Siddoway follows Sonja Wasden as she constantly fights suicidal thoughts, denial, excruciating pain, fear, panic, and guilt.
An Impossible Life by Sonja Wasden and Rachael Siddoway is a riveting memoir well worth reading as it's rich in detailed descriptions of the darkest moments of a devoted mother. Sonja and Rachael let readers enter the mind of an individual who constantly loses touch with reality and feels immense emotional pain that triggers obsessive suicidal thoughts due to her mental illness. Rachael Siddoway perfectly captures Sonja's twisted perception of reality and her mindset. Sonja's strength to go on with her life despite it being too painful to continue highly impressed me. Thus, I recommend An Impossible Life as it's well-written and impactful enough to inspire compassion and raise awareness for those suffering from mental health disorders.
