Marya Hornbacher is a nationally known author from Minneapolis and recipient of a host of awards for journalism. She will speak at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), North Central Region, support meeting on Aug.13, 2009.

Marya is the author of "Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia"

(HarperCollins Publishers,

Inc.). Marya's new memoir "Madness: A Life" (Houghton

Mifflin) tells about the difficulties, and promise, of living with mental illness. It was published in April of 2008.

A local reader of Marya's

books said that in reading "Madness" she could identify

with Marya's experiences and, at times, would laugh and then cry.

The NAMI NCR support meetings are held at Our Place, 606 Front Street, in Brainerd the second Thursday of each month from 7-9 p.m. Front Street is one-way going east from 6th Street (Hwy. 371) south of the water tower.