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John Mulaney's Ex-wife Anna Marie Tendler Recalls Mental Health Struggles And Psychiatric Stay In Upcoming Memoir
Anna Marie Tendler, John Mulaney's ex-wife, shares her mental health journey and details of her psychiatric stay in her upcoming memoir Men Have Called Her Crazy, releasing this August.
Trigger Warning: This article contains references to suicide, self-harm, eating disorder and more
Anna Marie Tendler is ready to tell her story three years after her split with her husband of six years, John Mulaney. The multimedia artist will be detailing her mental health journey, including her two-week stay at a psychiatric hospital, in her memoir Men Have Called Her Crazy, due August 13.
An excerpt from the book was published in Elle on Wednesday, July 23. Read on for an early peek at Tendler’s journey through “intense suicidal ideation, self-harm, disordered eating,” and more.
Anna Marie Tendler details her experience at a psychiatric facility
Tendler writes in her novel that she entered the facility on the recommendation of her therapist, who “was at a loss” for what to do with her. Tendler, per the Elle excerpt of her book, arranged ahead of time to stay at a women-only facility because she couldn't stand being around men at the time. Her therapist advised her otherwise.
Tendler checked herself in at the beginning of 2021, when her then-husband Mulaney was in rehab for his alcohol and cocaine problems.
She, in her book, recounts being asked about her past physical and sexual abuse by a therapist at the hospital and recalls how it was easier to unload the burden to a stranger. As for her suicidal thoughts, Tendler says she had previously written a suicide note, but she didn't plan on dying. Instead, she used self-harm as a mechanism to cope with her depression and anxiety.
“I wanted to die, but I cut myself instead, and that cutting wasn't meant to kill me,” the Elle excerpt from Tendler’s upcoming book reads.
In her dark time, Tendler, remarkably, kept the hope to get better alive, telling a nurse, “My wish for myself is that one day I’ll reach a place where I can face hardships without trying to destroy myself.”
Tendler announced her memoir in March
The 39-year-old said at the time that she had never been more proud of any work. “It is a story about mental health; about being a woman; about family. And finally, about the endless source of my heartbreak and rage — men,” she wrote of her book on Instagram.
Tendler noted that she had been writing this book for two years, but it felt as if she had been writing it her whole life.
If you know someone who is having suicidal thoughts, anxiety, going through depression, or is suffering from a serious mental illness, reach out to a nearby doctor, mental health expert, or an NGO for immediate help. There are several helplines available for the same.
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