Somehow, I always kind of knew writing would take on a large part of my life as I grew up. In elementary school I wrote an illustrated comic stories about space battles and wars. I also seemed to have a knack for writing rhyming poems. When I first went through mental illness, I had no idea that I would end up working a number of jobs in the mental health field, and that I would have published 3 books about my own journey through mental illness to recovery. In this podcast and text post, I want to try and share some valuable information about how people with mental health disabilities can write and publish their own articles, poems, and books, and how critically important it can be to so many people who also suffer.
One of the first things that was a sign I would go on to be a writer was that I simply loved books. After school, I would walk to the library and take out books about mouse detectives or citizens of the moon. Most of the time I was the only person at the library and the librarians seemed to like me a lot. Later on, displaying the addictive behaviour that plagues so many people with mental health issues, I bought and read a ton of comic books which my parents didn’t like. They were both lovers of well-written, classic literature, but somehow I had gotten the superhero bug and I did anything I could, including having a paper route, putting on magic shows, even working on a farm to get more money for comics at the ripe old age of 11.
In junior high, I started watching a show called “Reading Rainbow” on PBS starring Levar Burton, who played Geordie Laforge on Star Trek the Next Generation. He opened my eyes to a world of reading I had almost forgotten about. I started going to libraries again, but my concentration and focus were different from years of reading comic books. So, I started in the children’s section and trained myself to be able to read normal adult paperbacks.
Now, flash forward 40 years, I have a massive collection of books and 13 of them are books I myself have written. I feel this is a journey anyone can take, and that it is also something so desperately needed. There are simply not enough true, honest books from people with mental health issues out there. I want to mention that there are some amazing people writing life-changing books. One of them is Susan Doherty, who wrote the book “The Ghost Garden.” Susan is full of talent and something sadly missing in a lot of literature about people with mental health issues, true kindness and compassion. Right now, I am reading a book by Tamara Severson, called “Too Far From the Path” which is about her real experiences with psychosis. Tamara is an incredible writer and has so many insightful and fascinating insights and anecdotes regarding her years of struggle with psychosis. I am halfway through this book and finding it very hard to put down.
One of the things I want to stress is that for anyone who takes on the mammoth task, writing is not easy. It can take a long time to learn how to write, then after you publish you need to learn the ropes on how to promote and market your book. You really never stop learning, reading, teaching, working. But for people with disabilities, especially mental health disabilities, it is always okay to ask for help. This is where Writers in Residence may be able to help you find resources. These are people hired by libraries or universities to help the general public with their writing. Call them, make an appointment, and bring your writing. Ask them things like what you can do to improve and market your writing. Another great question to ask is how a person with a disability can apply for grant money to support them while they create, and of course, what are some options for a person in the way of employment that can benefit their writing efforts.
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