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Roll Back the World: A Sister’s Memoir

From a book review by psychiatrist Awais Aftab:

"Individuals with schizophrenia need pride, meaning, self-esteem, and agency to flourish as much as anyone else, perhaps even more so. How our collective lives can be organized to make these possibilities accessible to individuals like Rachel is a social challenge rivaling the scientific one, and it is a task we have long neglected."

Writing About Rachel

When my older sister died, I felt a sudden urge to tell her story. Rachel was a strong, courageous woman who endured decades in a system that diagnosed her with schizophrenia but couldn't help her. She was a survivor, but the damage and stigma of severe mental illness made her an outcast from society. This need to honor her life was unlike anything I had felt before. I couldn't ignore it. I wanted people to know that Rachel was part of a family that loved her even though they couldn't care for her when she needed help. Her lifelong passion for poetry and creativity inspired me, and I am grateful that writing this memoir brought us together again.
I hope you will be inspired by it, too.
Rachel with her parents during World War II, with me, and with kibbutz friends during her year in Israel. Painting by Gary Tenenbaum.

A Kirkus Reviews Top Indie Book of 2023

About The Author

Deborah Kasdan spent her formative years in the Midwest before transitioning to life on the East Coast, where she raised her two daughters with her husband. After completing a successful 35-year career writing about business and technology, she turned her focus to creative storytelling, joining the Westport Writers' Workshop to bring her personal experiences to the page.
Beyond writing, Kasdan has advocated for mental health and intergenerational community living, serving on the board of Southwest Connecticut’s National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and an intergenerational housing organization. When she’s not writing, she enjoys swimming, yoga, and spending time with her four grandchildren. Summers take her to the serene Nauset Marsh on Cape Cod. She resides for the rest of the year in Norwalk, CT. Her next project, a novel inspired by her mother’s childhood in a Jewish orphanage in 1930s Chicago, promises to showcase her gift for storytelling once more.

Discover Roll Back the World: A Sister's Memoir 

Roll Back the World: A Sister's Memoir is an award-winning autobiography that shares a poignant story of love, resilience, and the unbreakable bond between sisters. Written by Deborah Kasdan, this deeply personal narrative recounts the challenges her sister Rachel faced while navigating decades within systems designed to support individuals — systems that often fell short, including assisted living facilities unable to meet her needs.
This Deborah Kasdan autobiography doesn’t just highlight Rachel’s struggles with schizophrenia; it also celebrates her creative brilliance, her gift for poetry, and an indomitable spirit that shone through life’s hardships. Readers drawn to themes of mental health, family connections, and the complexities of caregiving will find solace and inspiration throughout the book.

Why Readers love Roll Back the World 

  • Finalist in Foreword Reviews’ Indie Book of the Year Awards (Autobiography and Memoir)
  • Selected as one of Kirkus Reviews’ Top Indie Books of 2023  
Critics and readers alike have praised this compelling memoir for its heartfelt honesty and literary depth. While exploring the intersections of assisted living and mental illness, Roll Back the World: A Sister’s Memoir goes beyond the struggles to honor the enduring power of familial love, perseverance, and creativity. Rachel’s poem serves as a testament to her remarkable spirit, leaving readers with a profound sense of hope and admiration. Explore additional glowing reviews on the Praise Page.
  • "Roll Back the World is a complex, layered story that will stick with readers a long time."
    —Indie Global Reads, Fall 2023, Shelf Unbound
    "A beautiful and brave book. Written with compassion, truth, devotion, and deep insight."
    —Rahla Xenopoulos, Author A Memoir of Love and Madness, Bubbles, Tribe and The Season of Glass
  • "intelligent & probing. . . an act of catharsis. . . profoundly moving. . ."
    —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
  • "Poignant. . . an important memoir"
    —Rabbi Dr. Tirzah Firestone, author of Wounds into Wisdom: Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma, 2020 Nautilus Book Award: Gold in Psychology
    "A heartfelt tribute for a lost sister"
    —Grace Cho, author of Tastes Like War, 2021 National Book Awards non-fiction finalist
  • "A riveting, courageous and highly personal account of a descent into madness and the mental health system's sorely misguided response"
    —Peter Stastny, psychiatrist, filmmaker and a co-author of The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic
  • "compelling and honest"
    —Kenneth Duckworth, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
    "raw, real and loving"
    —Randye Kaye, author of Ben Behind His Voices: One Family’s Journey from the Chaos of Schizophrenia to Hope

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ISBN: 978-1647425715 | PUBLISHER: SHE WRITES PRESS
Publicist: johanNA Ramos-Boyer at  johanna@jrbpr.biz