Hello! I'm Sandy Ernest Allen.
I'm a journalist, writer and speaker. I'm trans and queer and live in the Catskills.
My work tends to focus on normalcy — especially as it pertains to gender and mental health.
My first book is called A Kind of Mirraculas Paradise: A True Story about Schizophrenia. It was published by Scribner a few years back.
It tells the story of the life of my Uncle Bob. I call it AKOMP for short.
If you want an introduction to me and Uncle Bob and the book and our whole deal, listen to this piece about us on This American Life.
Here's more about me. Here's more about AKOMP.
Here are some FAQs.
Other stuff you may be interested in:
Links to my features, essays and radio stories, which have been published by many outlets, including The Cut, them., BuzzFeed News, and the podcast 99% Invisible.
This resources page, where I've shared recommended organizations and media, especially to do with mental health care alternatives.
The site for my podcast, Mad Chat, which is about how pop culture shapes our understanding of mental health.
I encourage you to subscribe to my very infrequent newsletter, What's Helping Today.