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— Paula Tretkoff · Mathematician · Professor Emerita, Texas A&M, College St, TX, USA.
Writing Truth Through Fiction: The Story of Diana Dirkby
DIANA DIRKBY
Born in Sydney, Australia, Diana Dirkby (the pen name of Paula Tretkoff) spent years immersed in academia before turning her attention to fiction. As Paula Tretkoff, she published extensively as a university professor and research mathematician, a world of precision and logic that would later collide with her inner world of emotion and memory.
Today, under her chosen name Diana Dirkby, she writes literary fiction inspired by her journey as a mental health consumer living with schizophrenia. Her unique perspective bridges intellect and empathy, blending analytical insight with poetic storytelling.
Dividing her time between Texas and Alaska with her spouse, Diana finds inspiration in contrasts, stillness and noise, isolation and connection, mathematics and madness. Her mission as a writer is simple yet profound: to humanize mental illness and dismantle the misconceptions that surround it.
Every sentence she writes carries the pulse of truth, raw, reflective and deeply human.
My Work
Diana Dirkby’s novels are more than stories; they are emotional testaments to endurance and identity.
Her debut novel, The Overlife: A Tale of Schizophrenia, offers an unflinching exploration of life shaped by mental illness. Through the character of Sarah, Diana transforms the experience of schizophrenia into a lyrical, haunting narrative about family, memory and survival.
Her second novel, Three Kidnapped, Three Siblings, Three Furies, ventures into darker territory, a psychological thriller that fuses Greek mythology, sibling trauma and the psychology of vengeance. Beneath the crime and mystery lies a sharp social commentary about abuse, justice and the haunting echoes of generational pain.
Through each book, Diana Dirkby demonstrates the courage it takes to speak the unspeakable. Her work doesn’t just raise awareness, it reshapes understanding.
Diana stands among a growing movement of authors with schizophrenia who are reclaiming their voices, challenging stigma and proving that creativity can flourish even in fractured minds.
My Community
Interaction with my readers is crucial to my evolution as a writer. In the example of paranoid schizophrenia and psychosis, no two people with this brain disorder have precisely the same experiences despite sharing common symptoms. Therefore, I can learn much from other mental health consumers, including those who write books about schizophrenia, with a different perspective. This way I can gain objectivity. A similar statement applies to sibling abuse.
Join My Journey
My Instagram account is @dianadirkby_writings. My Facebook account is Diana Dirkby, but for news of my writing, you should look at the page in that account entitled Diana Dirkby Writings. I have an X account associated with my writings. The address is @DianaDirkby. You will find information on contacting and interacting with me on my home webpage and the Contact Us page. There are tools to interact with me, such as email messages. You can write to me at diana@dianadirkbywrites.com.
