My story is featured in the 'Coddling of the American Mind' documentary.
It's also the first-ever "Substack Presents" feature.
The Coddling of the American Mind, a bestselling book by
and Jonathan Haidt () on the campus mental health crisis of the 2010s, is now a documentary by and Courtney Balaker, streaming exclusively on Substack. I’m honored to have been featured as an on-screen subject, and I sincerely hope this film will help many find strength, healing and freedom.The Coddling documentary is slated to screen at various universities throughout the U.S., including a free screening at UCLA on the 28th of February. See filmmaker Ted Balaker’s note below for more details:
You can subscribe to the ‘Coddling’ Substack where you’ll be able to stream the full documentary and follow tour updates here.
For those who have already seen the documentary, and are familiar with my story, the renewal of my mind has been an ongoing process that began in late 2018, for which I give Jesus Christ all the praise, thanks, honor and glory.
A lot has changed for me since we filmed the documentary. It’s been two-and-a-half years since, and I almost don’t recognize myself on-screen. I also left social media for good—a step that I’m still finding the language for, and one that has proved to be immeasurably beneficial. Once I find the words for what this new ‘touch-grass’ season has felt like, I will spill my guts out into an essay or video.
If you are not familiar with the story of my descent into dark, identity-based cognitive distortions, and how Christ’s command to forgive freed me, this video on how I “escaped the cult of wokeness” details my journey out of that pit.
And in case you’re interested in learning more about the Christian perspective on forgiveness, I recommend Hebrew scholar, Dr. Tim Mackie’s presentation on the topic:
This video involves a discussion of spirituality, debt and justice. I’d recommend C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity for a thoughtful and logical deep dive into these topics. That, and The Book of Forgiving by Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu which I can’t recommend enough.
And of course, the Bible. (The app I’ve linked to is what I currently use.)
One last item: here’s a sampler of my formerly-archived essays:
Congrats! You and your fellow cast members are rock stars. Look forward to reading more of your work.
Here's my review of Coddling: https://yuribezmenov.substack.com/p/coddling-american-mind-documentary-review
Ms. Katiti, I watched The Coddling... (I also read the book prior) and was so moved listening to your story. In addition to giving us your perspective coming from another country, you opened your heart to your audience. I was so grateful. I had a child who was at uni during the late 2010s and the things they did to make him feel badly about himself, I believe, linger to thus day. I wish you every good thing going forward.