About me - Franziska Mendes

I was born in 1976. After my commercial education, I went abroad for language stays. There I met my husband, got married and had my son at the age of 23. A few years later I moved back to my homeland with my small family. Then the divorce followed, my ex-husband returned to his homeland. Since then I have been a single mother, always working (if healthy) and have been suffering from depression for over 10 years now. Moderate and severe depressive phases alternate.

In my book/books I give insights of my life. I explain how difficult it can be for me to find a good way. The title ACTUALLY I gave because it is often like this to me, that I ACTUALLY would behave differently, that I ACTUALLY would feel differenty or that I ACTUALLY would think differently, if I was not suffering from depression, which keeps getting in my way.

I write about losing jobs, about the fight to get some understanding for the illness, about the way how to handle strainfull situations and about the suffering. I explain how stressed out I was due to a false expertise report, how disappointed in work colleagues, how hopeless I sometimes feel and how hard it is to live with a depression.

But I always find the strength again to keep on going and to keep on hoping. I do not give up.