315: From Painting to Memoir, a Visual Artist’s Journey Into Writing — Interview with Miriam Feldman

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hey there word nerds!</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Miriam Feldman.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Miriam is a painter, writer, and mother originally from Los Angeles, California. After her son, Nick's, diagnosis with Schizophrenia more than ten years ago, she began writing to document and explore the ways this new reality affected her relationship with her children, her husband, and herself. Her blog, https://www.miriam-feldman.com, explores issues of motherhood, mental illness and the politics of our mental health system.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She is also the founder and owner of Demar Feldman Studios, Inc., a specialty painting company that focuses on architectural finishes, murals, and decorative art for residential and commercial locations in Southern California and abroad. Clients include Samuel L. Jackson & LaTanya Richardson Jackson , Wolfgang Puck, Patricia Heaton & David Hunt, Tony Shalhoub and Brooke Adams, Jay & Mavis Leno and many more. She has run the company for 30 years.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Miriam holds an MFA in fine art from Otis College of Art and Design. Her paintings are in collections across the United States.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today we’re discussing her memoir</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">He Came In With It</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, in which she chronicles her experiences as she came to grips with her son’s mental illness.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode Miriam and I discuss:</span></h3> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How she chose what stayed in her memoir and what got cut</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What her family said about the content of her memoirs</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Her experience switching mediums from