I Carry Your Broken Heart

A Mother’s Memoir of Mental Illness, Medication, and Unrelenting Love

About the Book

I Carry Your Broken Heart is a powerful dual-voiced memoir about a mother and daughter navigating the long, unpredictable terrain of mental illness. Not a doctor, psychiatrist, or therapist, Susan Murray Foley is a mother who tells her story through a steady, searching perspective woven together with her daughter Samantha’s raw journals, blog posts, and social media reflections. Their voices invite readers into an intimate story of devotion, fear, hope, and heartbreak.

Beginning with Samantha’s initial diagnoses of disordered eating, anxiety, and depression, the narrative traces years of relapses and fragile recoveries, fresh starts and devastating setbacks. As Samantha pursues her dreams in Los Angeles, a medication change triggers life-altering consequences, testing the limits of treatment, distance, and a mother’s invisible thread that holds a family together through its darkest moments

Readers will witness the realities so many families face but rarely speak about:

Living with bulimia, bipolar II disorder, PTSD, depression, anxiety, and self-harm
The risks and unintended consequences of psychotropic medications
The emotional toll of HIPAA restrictions on parents of adult children
The quiet suffering of caregivers loving someone they cannot fix
The complicated intersection between mental illness, independence, and abusive relationships

This memoir does not offer easy answers. Instead, Samantha’s journey reveals the ripple effects of systemic failure, the weight of stigma, and the painful truth that even fierce love cannot cure mental illness, but it can carry you. Sometimes, carrying someone is the only way they learn to stand again.

I Carry Your Broken Heart is available everywhere books are sold on January 19, 2027.

ABOUT Susan Murray Foley

Susan Murray Foley writes about motherhood, mental illness, and the long road between fear and healing. After navigating years of misdiagnosis and advocacy for her daughter, Susan began sharing her family’s story to support others living in the quiet complexity of caregiving. Her work speaks to parents, caregivers, and anyone who has loved someone through mental health challenges.

“Sometimes the most powerful act of love is simply staying.”

— Susan Murray Foley

Praise for I Carry Your Broken Heart

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Notes for the Hard Days

Stay connected for monthly reflections 

on hope, healing, advocacy, 

and the enduring power of love.

Thank you for spending time with Samantha and me.

Susan Murray Foley

Resources

I Carry Your Broken Heart is Susan and Samantha’s personal story, not a medical guide. For readers navigating similar experiences, the resources below can offer a starting point for support, education, and crisis help.

Mental Health Education

For readers who want to better understand mental illness, treatment, diagnosis, and support options. Resources to include:

These organizations offer educational resources for individuals and families seeking to better understand mental health conditions, treatment options, warning signs, and support pathways.

Support for Families

For parents, caregivers, and loved ones trying to support someone through mental health challenges. Resources to include:

Loving someone through mental illness can be isolating, especially when answers are unclear or treatment is complicated. These resources may help families find support, language, and community while navigating the caregiving experience.

Eating Disorder Support

For readers seeking support or education related to disordered eating, bulimia, and recovery. Resources to include:

Because Samantha’s story includes disordered eating and bulimia, this section can offer a few trusted starting points for readers looking for eating disorder education, support groups, and family resources.

If you or someone you love is struggling, you are not alone. These resources may be a place to begin.

This page is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical, legal, or mental health advice. If you or someone you love is in immediate danger, call emergency services or contact a crisis hotline right away.