I've taken off a considerable amount of time from this blog. During that time off, I rested. I needed time to just live. You know...work, clean house, love friends and family...just live. I also worked on creating a book based on this blog. The name of the book is :"Love Letters to Maxine: Essays about Mental Illness, Family, Love, and Survival". As you know, I've written this blog to talk about what I've learned from a lifetime dealing with mental illness. My experience started with Maxine, my mother. Maxine was severely and chronically mentally ill. Throughout this blog, I've discussed my front row seat looking at how mental illness is looked at and treated in our society. I'm completing my first draft of the book, and I'm excited about moving forward with the project.
So, where do things stand? With encouragement, I've decided I need to reconnect with my audience. While taking the time off was necessary for me, it didn't help with my project. This blog is my platform. The blog, the book, and our conversations are really all for one purpose. That purpose is advocacy. I think I can safely say that mental illness has never been treated in the way that it needs to be. Stigma and lack of knowledge have combined to create this horrific system in which many people don't have access to effective help. In recent years, people have been raising their voices in order to change that. I've had a strong sense of hope that we would eventually be heard and things would start to change. I'm not convinced that is true right now.
At this time in our country, all the progress that has been made regarding human rights generally, and the rights of mentally ill people specifically, is being undone. The raised voices are more important than ever. I'm convinced that my voice needs to be raised again and I need to develop my platform. I'm rested and ready to go. How about you? Ready to work together? I need to hear your voices more than ever. It's time to advocate. It's time to create solutions. It's time to make some noise! Finally, we need to love and nurture each other. That's more important even now. Let's talk!
So, where do things stand? With encouragement, I've decided I need to reconnect with my audience. While taking the time off was necessary for me, it didn't help with my project. This blog is my platform. The blog, the book, and our conversations are really all for one purpose. That purpose is advocacy. I think I can safely say that mental illness has never been treated in the way that it needs to be. Stigma and lack of knowledge have combined to create this horrific system in which many people don't have access to effective help. In recent years, people have been raising their voices in order to change that. I've had a strong sense of hope that we would eventually be heard and things would start to change. I'm not convinced that is true right now.
At this time in our country, all the progress that has been made regarding human rights generally, and the rights of mentally ill people specifically, is being undone. The raised voices are more important than ever. I'm convinced that my voice needs to be raised again and I need to develop my platform. I'm rested and ready to go. How about you? Ready to work together? I need to hear your voices more than ever. It's time to advocate. It's time to create solutions. It's time to make some noise! Finally, we need to love and nurture each other. That's more important even now. Let's talk!
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