Stephanie Giese

All I Never Knowed: Mental Illness, a Mother's Love, and a Broken System Stephanie Giese

When Nicholas was three years old, he started blaming an imaginary friend he called The Other Nicholas for things he did yet couldn't remember or explain. By seven, professionals were starting to use words like "psychotic break" and "crisis unit." By the age of twelve, he had been admitted to pediatric psychiatric hospitals on four occasions.




All I Never Knowed is the true story of the Giese family and the fight for their oldest son as he wrestles with severe mental illness. Written at Nicholas' request and told from the perspective of his mother, Stephanie, the reader travels with the family through over a decade of navigating the children's mental health crisis in America from the inside. The Gieses share how they sought treatment, found resources, and discovered coping strategies along the way.




An intimate, emotional story that will make you laugh, cry, want to throw things, and hug your family, All I Never Knowed is the sort of sincere and candid dialogue that stays with you and just might lead to real and lasting change.