When Liza Long heard about the Newtown shooting, her first thought was, “What if my son does that someday?” Liza‘s 13-year-old son lives with mental illness and she equated their struggle with many other mothers and sons, including Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old Newtown, Mass., man guilty of one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. She posted a heart-wrenching cry for help on her blog: “I am Adam Lanza’s mother. I am Dylan Klebold’s and Eric Harris’s mother. I am James Holmes’s mother. I am Jared Loughner’s mother. I am Seung-Hui Cho’s mother. And these boys—and their mothers—need help.” Her essay was republished under the title “I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother”. The post immediately went viral, receiving 1.2 million likes on Facebook, 15,000 comments, and almost 30,000 emails. Liza found herself at the center of a passionate debate about a topic that is still hard to talk about – children’s mental illness. Liza quickly discovered she was not alone, there were many parents struggling with the same constant fear and worry. With her post she became an advocate for better understanding and better resources for children who suffer from mental disorder. Liza Long joins Life Elsewhere to talk about her book, The Price of Silence: A Mom’s Perspective on Mental Illness, her excruciatingly honest portrayal of what it’s like to be the mom of a child with serious mental illness.

Narcissists are everywhere. There are millions in the United States alone. They’re found in politics and popular culture, in the office, at school, in your neighborhood, even in your own home. Award-winning science journalist and senior writer at Time magazine, Jeffrey Kluger writes that the odds are good that you know a narcissist, probably a lot of then. In his new book, The Narcissist Next Door: Understanding the Monster in Your Family, in Your Office, in Your Bed— in Your World, Kluger deconstructs science and with insight and wit he unearths cutting edge research on narcissism and give s real world anecdotes to illustrate the impact narcissism has on the people who have it – and the people who don’t. Jeffrey Kluger joins Life Elsewhere to talk about his book with Norman B. Listen carefully, you’ll wonder if you fit into the criteria.

Also, this week’s Hit That Never Was, is a curious cover version of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” by Glass Cake. You too can have your Hit That Never Was played on Life Elsewhere. Send your selection and the reason why you believe it deserves to be the Hit That Never Was and little info about yourself to: hitthatnevrwas (at) lifeelsewhere (dot) co

Life Elsewhere airs every Monday at 9.00am ET (1400 GMT)

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