Our Mental Health columnist Nora Hille took part in the 2022 competition “Unhaltene Speen ungehaltener Frauen,” whose title goes back to the writer Christine Brückner (see below for more about this author). A total of 98 speeches of social and personal significance were submitted. The organizers Stiftung Brückner-Kühner, Verlag S. Fischer Theater und Medien in cooperation with the Archive of the German Women’s Movement, the City of Kassel and the Hessischer Rundfunk were so convinced by the material sent in that they not only six winning speechesbut make all the speeches available on YouTube – and thus turn all the unruly women involved into winners.
Since Nora Hille writes about mental health at FemalExperts and, as a person affected, is committed to anti-stigma work (i.e. equal rights for mentally ill people in our society, among others at Mutmachleute e.V.), it was quickly clear to her what her speech should be about. The title of her 10-minute speech, which you can listen to on YouTube here, is “I’m not amused – plea for a stigma-free society” and shows our Nora from a very passionate and committed side. It’s worth taking a look!
Christine Brückner
During her lifetime (1921-1996), Christine Brückner was one of the most popular authors in Germany. She had enormous success with her book “Wenn du geredettest, Desdemona. Unhaltene Reden ungehaltener Frauen”. These are monologues that Brückner has put into the mouths of famous women from literature and history: from Clytemnestra and Sappho to Katharina von Bora, Desdemona, and Effi Briest to Eva Braun, Gudrun Ensslin, and an unborn woman. Sometimes angry, sometimes committed, sometimes putting her finger in the wound, always full of power – just “unruly” Brückner gives these women a voice.
More about the project “Unheld Speeches of Unheld Women”:
https://ungehalten.net/zum-projekt/
About the author
Nora Hille was born in 1975, is happily married and has two children. She studied history, literature and media studies, worked in communications/public relations for 12 years and has now retired for health reasons. Today she writes articles on the topics of mental health and mental illness as a sufferer and experience expert. She also writes literary essays, poems (preferably haikus) and short prose. She regularly publishes her mental health column here at FemalExperts Magazine and is Editor of eXperimenta - the magazine for literature, art and society. Anti-stigma work is close to her heart: she is an encourager at Mutmachleute e.V. and is committed to Anti-Stigma-Texts against the stigmatization (exclusion) of the mentally ill in our society for more togetherness, tolerance and equality. In autumn 2023 her book "When Light Defeats Darkness" will be published by Palomaa Publishing. A book of encouragement about how to live a good and rich life despite bipolar illness - and the enormous challenge that this means every day for the inner balance of those affected.
