I’m always on the lookout for people whose words or art urge us, in one way or another, to get a little more real—with ourselves, and with one another—about what it means to live through mental illness. People who, by finding the courage to tell their own truths, help clear the way for the rest of us to do the same.

People like performance artist Bobby Baker, whose work I recently discovered—and fell in love with—while plumbing the archives of one of my favorite blogs.

In 1996, performance artist Bobby Baker was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, and for the next 11 years, she kept a visual diary of her journey through hell to a happier, saner, more stable ground. Baker made 711 drawings and water colors in all, and 158 of them now appear in her wonderful collection, Diary Drawings: Mental Illness and Me.

You can hear Baker narrate a slide show of her work in The Guardian.

And for more about the collection, check out Maria Popova’s review in the Atlantic.

Baker doesn't pull any punches (or arrows: see Day 690) when it comes to portraying just how rough, comical, difficult, joyous, confusing, and above all unpredictable the road to recovery can be. On the contrary, her diary bears witness to what a messy process of trial and error it really is, full of difficult compromises (Day 397) and grief (Day 579) and rage (Day 690), but also periodic arrivals of hope and cheerfulness (Day 526), warmth and connection (Day 72, Day 470), grace and exaltation (Day 579), and, eventually, healing and lasting transformation (Day 711).

Baker's diary is also a poignant reminder that, while interventions like medication and therapy may initially save the day, it’s our own humor and insight and self-knowledge and authenticity and connections and courage that take us most of the rest of the way. Thanks, Bobby, for sharing your story with us.

People often ask me why I chose to specialize in grief and loss. Isn’t it depressing, talking about death all the time? they want to know. I have a number of different answers to this question. Depending on who’s asking, I may talk about the losses in my own past that led me to this work. Or I may talk about all the genuine, warm and wise colleagues I’ve met through my work with hospice. Or I might speak to some of the profound ways my clients have inspired me with their stories. Or I may just make a joke, maybe something to the tune of how it wasn’t so much that I chose to specialize in grief and loss so much as they chose to specialize in me.

Next time, though, I think I might just send them this gem, instead:

As featured on: Upworthy, Vimeo Staff Picks, Short of the Week, Laughing Squid, The Awesomer, Sopitas and many more... (visit www.goodgrief.tv/press) Good Grief is a short stop motion animated documentary that explores the lessons we learn from dealing with grief and loss. Five real people share their true stories of losing something precious and what it has taught them about living. Made in 2012, Good Grief has screened at 19 festivals worldwide and won numerous awards. Inspired by the loss of her own mother and the grief that ensued, director Fiona Dalwood went about finding out how the experience of loss transforms us. With a shoestring budget and months of hard work, she made Good Grief, a beautiful short film that has been described as “adorable and heartfelt”. Accessible to children and adults alike, it is being used in educational programs as a starting point to discuss the process of grief and what some of the positive outcomes of grief can be. If you like this film please consider contributing to our tip jar - all funds raised will offset the cost of production. Watch Good Grief with French subtitles (Regarder Good Grief avec sous-titres français) http://vimeo.com/91157089 (5 May, 2014) Coming Soon—Spanish subtitles To find out more visit www.goodgrief.tv Keep up to date with news about the film on Facebook www.facebook.com/goodgriefanimation Follow Good Grief on Twitter twitter.com/goodgriefmovie Good Grief on IMDB (We love votes!) www.imdb.com/title/tt2583460/ Email director@goodgrief.tv or producer@goodgrief.tv If you would like to write about the film or have any questions, please get in touch with the film-makers via the emails above. A media kit and photos are available for download on our press page (www.goodgrief.tv/press) Written, directed and animated by Fiona Dalwood (www.fionadalwood.com/about) Produced by Jonno Katz (www.jonnokatz.com) Music by Matthew Nicholson (www.invisibleaudio.com.au) Sound by Livia Ruzic Voice cast (interview subjects): Dan Michael, Alex De Vos, Sarah De Vos, Andrew O'Sullivan, Dana Katz © 2012 VCA School of Film & Television, The University of Melbourne, Australia (vca.unimelb.edu.au/ftv) Good Grief has screened at the following festivals: - Official Selection: ECU The European Independent Film Festival (April 2014, Paris, France) - Official Selection: Tricky Women (March 2014, Vienna, Austria) - Official Selection: Made in Melbourne Film Festival (November 2013, Melbourne, Australia) - Official Selection: Animpact (November 2013, Korea/Japan/China) - Official Selection: Clare Valley Film Festival (November 2013, South Australia, Australia) - Official Selection: London International Animation Festival (October 2013, London, UK) - Official Selection: Dok Leipzig (November 2013, Germany) - Official Selection: Anim'Est (November 2013, Bucharest, Romania) - Official Selection: Cut Out Fest (November 2013, Mexico) - Official Selection: Canberra Short Film Festival (September 2013, Canberra, Australia) - Official Selection: Animanima (September 2013, Cacak, Serbia) - Official Selection: Just People/Chalice Films for Change (July 2013, Melbourne, Australia) - Official Selection: Heart of Gold Film Festival (July 2013, Gympie, QLD, Australia) - Official selection: Melbourne International Animation Festival (June 2013, Melbourne, Australia) - Official Selection: Warburton Film Festival 'Show Us Your Shorts' (June 2013, Warburton, Victoria, Australia) - Official Selection: Brooklyn Film Festival (May-June 2013, United States of America) - Official Selection: St Kilda Film Festival (May 2013, Melbourne, Australia) - Official Selection: Mo&Friese Children's ShortFilmFestival, as part of the International ShortFilmFestival Hamburg (June 2013, Hamburg, Germany) - Official selection: Australian International Animation Festival (May 2013, Australia) - Participation by Invitation: Berlinale Online Short Film Cloud 2013 (Feb 2013, Berlin, Germany) Good Grief has been recognised with the following awards and nominations… - Winner: Best Australian Student Film, Clare Valley Film Festival 2013 - Nominee: ATOM Awards 2013 - Best Tertiary Animation - Highly Commended: Melbourne International Animation Festival 2013 - Winner: Senior Commendation Award (2013 Warburton Film Festival Show Us Your Shorts, Warburton, Victoria Australia) - Nominee: BEST STUDENT FILM 2013 (Australian Directors Guild Awards) - Winner: Best Masters Animation 2012 (Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne Australia) - Winner: Orloff Family Charitable Trust Script Award 2012 (Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne Australia)