Trisha Cull is a graduate of the University of British Columbia's MFA Creative Writing program. Her work has been published in Room of One'sOwn, Descant, subTerrain, Geist, The New Quarterly, The Dalhousie Review and Prism. She was the winner of Prism's Award for Literary Non-fiction in 2007, and the 2007 Prairie Fire Bliss Carman Poetry Award for her poem, "Loose." She lives in Victoria, B.C.

Her first book, The Death of Small Creatures (Nightwood 2015) is a memoir about her experiences with bipolar disorder, substance abuse and bulimia, "and my fervent need for the approval and love of any and all men." Having been bipolar for twenty-five years, she writes poetry about her abuse of many substances, including alcohol, prescription medication, cough medicine, crystal meth and crack. Three relationships significantly impact her life: her marriage to Leigh, a much older man; her unrequited love for Dr. P, her therapist; and her healthier relationship with Richard, an American she meets through her blog. She was bulimic since she was sixteen, most of her adult life, but with the help of her psychiatrist, Dr. P, and others, she gained a period of health and peacefulness, in remission from bulimia, and completed her book. "Mental illness is reaching epidemic proportions," she says, "so I feel my memoir is both timely and relevant. I hope that my book will help people dealing with similar struggles to feel connected to something outside of themselves, to have hope."

BOOKS:

"The Death of Small Creatures (Nightwood Editions, April 2015) 978-0889713079 $22.95

[BCBW 2015]