My Grandma Frieda

Transcript: My paternal grandmother, Frieda, had schizophrenia.
Transcript: She lived in a nursing home, with the strong smell of urine.
Transcript: One time on a visit I noticed an Elizabeth Taylor biography she seemed to be reading.
Transcript: Another time I saw a calendar outside her room.
Transcript: Say hello to your Grandma Frieda, Andrew. Who was she,
Transcript: with the lined, gaunt face, in the room that was bare, with the curtain between the beds?
Transcript: I never knew her.
Transcript: I think of the metal sound the curtain made when it was pulled open;
Transcript: the word "schizophrenia" never uttered on our visits;
Transcript: and her voice--startled, gloomy, delighted when she said hello. Well hi there grandson.
This is a picture of Andrew Field. He is smiling at the camera.

Andrew Field is a librarian and cartoonist who writes and draws mostly about mental health. His website is www.andrewfield48.com.