Courage

I am doing research on a character for a new novel I'm working on and stumbled on a blog that got me thinking. My character is a paranoid schizophrenic so I went looking for symptoms and treatments in order to make him believable. What I found were tortured and incredibly courageous people sharing their thoughts. After reading a dozen or so blogs, a pattern emerged. People were either having a good day or a bad one. Unfortunately, mental illness works this way. Having been through a few deep depressions in my day, I can attest to the validity of this statement. On a good day, you hope it doesn't end and on a bad day you can't wait until it does. Why is that? Why is life reduced to good days and bad? Cancer patients also describe their lives this way. Why is it that we don't afford the people with mental illness the same respect? It is still something to hide in our society. Just mention a family member with schizophrenia and everyone present gets squeemish. No one says any words of kindness, no one shares stories of friends and family going through the same struggle. I'm guilty of sitting silently, my discomfort visible. Why is this? I think the explanation lies in the fact that we don't know what causes mental illness so there is an unreasonable fear that we could get it. We know more about certain cancers (not necessarily what causes them but what to do to maybe avoid getting it - no guarantees, of course) than we do about the etiology of schizophrenia. If we don't smoke we can reduce our chances of getting lung cancer. What can we do to reduce our chances of being locked up inside our minds? It's a control thing. There is an illusion of control when it comes to cancer, whereas, we have none when it comes to our minds taking an involuntary vacation. I know that stress played a role in my side canyon trek into depression but still occasionally venture close to the abyss due to inability to see the signs. We have all been there, life is that way.

Writing is often said to be therapeutic but as I read those blogs I realized it is not a path out. In fact, it seemed to be a circular event. Like the dog chasing its tail. For some people there is no path out. Their brain chemistry cannot be changed but for others the cycle needs to be broken. Quit writing about good days and bad and get out and do something. Get out of your head and into your body. Take a walk, get a pet, engage in conversation even when you don't want to, take a class and surround yourself with people who are active and involved in life. I also encourage those with mental issues to seek help and enlist an advocate to help you assess options.

Back to respect, for those of you who have avoided the pitfalls of the mind, be compassionate for those less fortunate. I'm not sure how we change our societal views of mental illness. I do know that years ago when I went through it I learned quickly to not disclose it. I don't know how to get it out of the closet. Maybe we can learn from those brave enough to come out of the closet with regards to sexual orientation. Maybe we need a movement, an activist to champion the cause. I welcome suggestions and comments.

Book Clubs

It's always a bit intimidating to meet with a Book Club that has read your book. Last night I had just that experience. Upon arrival, I met with the woman who had invited me and she informed me that this was a church group. I immediately thought about my novel and whether or not I had painted church ladies in a positive light. I think I had been fair in my handling of religion. Although my main character, Maggie, was more Taoist, she did have an experience with a "higher power" that reflected positively on the christian view of God. After introductions, I talked about what it takes to get a novel written and published and how the cover design evolved. I told my Oprah story which involves a message from the beyond (I'll share this in another blog). The evening carried on with conversations running from marketing to what happened to the high school boyfriend - which of course could only be speculated on since he was a fictitious character. The lemon cake was divine (really) and the women kind. All-in-all an enjoyable evening. I will probably do this again in the future and I hope it will have a similar outcome. We writers are sensitive souls so please if you are asked to critique a book in the presence of the author, be kind. Remember, we are human and have risked a great deal to expose what we know of life through our characters. Even if the book is awful, find something kind to say - maybe you really liked the dedication or the author's bio in the back of the book. I'm guessing perfect strangers don't come to your office to critique your work - put yourself in their shoes and as my mother used to say (okay and probably someone famous) - 'if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all". Well, okay, I recommend you find something to say, even if it's about the weather. Book critics will make sure your author knows his or her place in the echelon of writers.