A Mother's Schizophrenia, a Husband's Suicide, a Daughter's OCD: Nobody Asked How These Women Were. Now They Ask India

What is the anthology Homecoming, and what mental-health experiences does it bring into public discussion?

Homecoming is an anthology about resilience, healing and wholeness in mental-health journeys. It matters because care does not happen only in clinics. Families often manage fear, confusion, grief and daily responsibilities without being asked how they are coping.

The book includes stories from women standing in different places within a family. Kavita Arora writes as a daughter whose mother lived with schizophrenia. Nandini Murali writes as a wife grieving her husband. Pheroza J. Godrej writes as a mother concerned about her adult daughter’s future with OCD and anxiety. Their experiences show mental health as a family journey.

The anthology makes private experiences more visible. Kavita says much of life happens between doctors’ appointments, when relatives provide practical and emotional support. By sharing these accounts, Homecoming creates language for experiences that families may otherwise face silently, including caregiving, bereavement, uncertainty and the need to support caregivers themselves.

How many women leaders’ stories are included in Homecoming, and what do their different family roles show about mental-health care?

Homecoming brings together 11 women leaders navigating mental-health challenges. The number matters because it presents multiple lived experiences rather than one representative story. Their accounts show how mental health affects relationships, household routines, caregiving decisions and grief.

The article highlights three contributors. Kavita Arora experienced her mother’s schizophrenia as a daughter. Nandini Murali describes bereavement after her husband’s death as a wife. Pheroza J. Godrej considers her daughter’s lifelong OCD and anxiety as a mother, including what may happen when parents are gone. These positions reveal different forms of responsibility and vulnerability.

Together, the stories show that care extends beyond treatment for the diagnosed person. Relatives watch for changes, provide daily support and carry uncertainty about the future. The article says few people asked these women how they were doing. Their different roles make caregivers visible and broaden the meaning of mental-health care.

What are schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and suicide bereavement, and how do they differ?

Schizophrenia is a serious mental-health condition that can involve psychosis, including hallucinations, delusions and difficulty distinguishing perceived experiences from shared reality. OCD involves unwanted, recurring thoughts or urges and repetitive actions or mental rituals. Suicide bereavement means grieving after someone dies by suicide; it is a loss experience, not a diagnosis.

The article describes Kavita’s mother having schizophrenia-associated psychosis and believing the person beside her was a stranger. It describes Pheroza’s daughter as living with OCD and anxiety and needing substantial support. It also discusses bereavement by suicide in its warning, while describing Nandini grieving her husband without stating how he died. These are distinct situations.

They can still overlap in their family impact. Schizophrenia may require crisis support and explanation. OCD can shape everyday independence and future planning. Suicide bereavement can bring intense grief and a need for sensitive support. The article’s common thread is that families also need information, care and recognition.

What is postvention, and why is it important for people grieving after a suicide?

Postvention is the support and response provided after a suicide. It can include immediate practical help, grief counselling, peer support, clear information and follow-up for family members, friends and others affected. It is different from prevention, which aims to reduce the risk of suicide before it occurs.

The article warns that it discusses suicide and bereavement by suicide, but it does not describe a specific postvention programme. Its wider focus still explains why support matters: much of the living happens outside medical appointments, and relatives can carry distress without anyone asking how they are doing. A family may need help understanding what happened while managing daily life.

Good postvention reduces isolation and connects survivors with appropriate care. It can also help professionals notice people who are struggling after the death. The article’s emphasis on family members supports a broader lesson: after a suicide, care should reach beyond the person who died to those left behind.

What can happen to children and other family members when a mental illness is not explained or openly discussed?

Without an explanation, children may not understand whether a parent’s behaviour is illness, danger or something they caused. They may normalize shouting, violence or paranoia and assume other families live the same way. Silence also blocks access to language, guidance and professional support.

Kavita recalls that her mother’s schizophrenia was never named during childhood. She and her brother learned to read the atmosphere at home and formed a survival bond. Relapses occurred around March and the financial year’s end, adding pressure during exams. Kavita says she struggled to connect with her mother when her perceived truth felt completely unreal.

Children and other relatives may find joy, friendships and interests, but those supports do not replace an explanation or care. Kavita only learned the diagnosis at 21, during medical college, and says her compassion and understanding changed. Her experience shows why families need conversations, accessible services and support for people who live alongside mental illness.

Who provides the everyday care and emotional support that often happens between doctors’ appointments?

Everyday mental-health care is often carried by relatives and close companions. They notice changes, manage routines, offer reassurance, accompany people through distress and consider long-term needs. This work may be essential even when it is invisible to doctors or outsiders.

Kavita and her brother supported each other while living with their mother’s episodes. Nandini describes a golden retriever comforting her during a crying spell after her husband’s death. Pheroza repeatedly reassures her adult daughter that she will be cared for when her parents are gone. These examples show emotional, practical and future-focused support.

The article says very few people asked these women how they were doing. That gap matters because caregivers can carry fear, grief and responsibility alongside the person receiving treatment. Effective services should therefore include family conversations and caregiver support. The people who keep daily life together need recognition, information and care, not only instructions about the diagnosed person.

Why does effective mental-health care need to support families and caregivers as well as the person diagnosed with a condition?

A diagnosis affects more than the person who receives it. Families may manage symptoms, crises, appointments, household responsibilities and worries about the future. If professionals focus only on the patient, they can miss the people making daily care possible and the relatives whose wellbeing is also under strain.

Kavita now asks about family members who are not in the consulting room. Her childhood taught her why: her mother’s schizophrenia shaped the home, while Kavita and her brother watched the atmosphere and supported each other. Pheroza’s story adds long-term planning, as she worries about her daughter’s care after her parents are gone.

Family-inclusive care can provide explanations, improve communication and identify support needs earlier. It also recognizes caregivers as people, not just resources. The article says much living happens between appointments and that few people asked caregivers how they were doing. Mental-health services must therefore extend beyond the consultation room.

Key Facts:

📌 Homecoming is India’s first anthology of 11 women leaders’ mental-health journeys.

📌 The stories focus on resilience, healing and wholeness.

📌 Much mental-health care happens between doctors’ appointments.

📌 Homecoming contains 11 women leaders’ stories.

📌 Kavita, Nandini and Pheroza speak as daughter, wife and mother.

📌 Family roles shape mental-health care and responsibility.

📌 Schizophrenia can involve psychosis and difficulty distinguishing perceived reality.