About the Book
Lilies in the Field is the story of Air Force Captain Kathy Anderson, from her idyllic childhood years as the daughter of an Air Force officer living in the Netherlands and Germany to her return to the United States to complete her education, grow in her spiritual journey, and establish a career in the Air Force. This memoir captures the details of a life whose path winds through spiritual highs and lows, discovering a vocation, embracing the challenges and opportunities of a military career in missile defense, and rising through the ranks of academia.
Along the way, Anderson’s sudden onset of mental illness threatens to derail her hard-earned career and her dream of academic achievement. Through a blend of humor and grace, Anderson invites readers into the events leading up to her first symptoms of schizoaffective disorder and recounts her ongoing struggles with seeking a diagnosis and finally receiving treatment. They will be plunged into her mind as she battles delusions and paranoia, bringing her to the brink of suicide as she struggles through setbacks and also strengthens her bond with her family as she discovers their shared struggles with mental illness.
The book’s three journeys, which span a career, a dark night of the soul, and the depths of mental illness, all converge as Anderson is able to find gratitude, practice her faith, and serve others with her remarkable story of recovery. Like the lilies in the field from which this book takes its name, Anderson’s story of hope, courage, and perseverance is beyond the things of this world and ultimately clothed in splendor.
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Reviews
"Kathy Anderson’s poignant memoir Lilies in the Field deals with her mental illness and the faith, courage, and perseverance that brought her to acceptance and peace.
From early childhood, Anderson dreamed of being in the Air Force and serving God. Her mother’s Air Force career took the family to the Netherlands, where Anderson was born, and then to an idyllic life in Germany. The strict rules, striving for excellence, and acceptance of diversity that characterized military life provided the sense of belonging and security that she craved, and the small Catholic church on the German Air Force base nurtured her faith and satisfied her need for community and service.
But with her mother’s retirement, Anderson’s happy life in Europe came to an end. Relocation to the United States brought her face-to-face with a society awash in consumerism, pop culture, and a pervasive lack of respect for others. She learned how unfriendly kids could be to someone they saw as different.
The book details the obstacles that Anderson faced in completing her academic degrees. It also covers her time in the Air Force, which was marked by severe mental and physical stress and barriers to her aspirations. It analyzes obstacles well, laying responsibility for each where it belongs, with some going to the nature of her assignment to a missile combat crew with a toxic culture; some to her own inability to take sufficient, timely action on her own behalf; and some to a lack of adequate mentorship, together with feeling unheard and disbelieved with regard to her health issues.
The first symptoms of Anderson’s schizoaffective disorder were sudden in their appearance. Anderson describes being plunged into a terrifying world ruled by delusions and paranoia and recounts being convinced that the government was out to get her. Broken in body and spirit, and with a long list of hospitalizations for schizoaffective disorder, suicidal ideation, and a suicide attempt, Anderson was discharged from the Air Force with medical retirement and benefits that allow her to get the help she needed, and also earn her doctorate.
Thoughtful in detailing Anderson’s personal links between God and the military, the book features the hyperreligiosity of Anderson’s delusional periods, depicting them as a “dark night of the soul.” Photographs of Anderson and her family are included—a personal touch in this satisfying book about a woman finding her way back to God, and to a life marked by meaning and purpose.
About life with schizoaffective disorder, the memoir Lilies in the Field is powerful in charting Kathy Anderson’s path to self-worth."
─Foreword Clarion Reviews ★★★★
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Anderson brings readers into her unexpected journey with mental illness, at the height of her Air Force career. This is the inspiring true story of one woman’s fight to beat the odds, through her faith, determination, and the support of a loving family and compassionate medical team. The true and uplifting memoir of finding your way back to a new life, marked with meaning and purpose.