Pray and Persist: The Keys to Advocating for Adolescents

Flashbacks by Proxy The hiss of the bus stopping at the United terminal at the Newark, NJ airport stabbed me. We grabbed our suitcases, in preparation from finishing our transfer from one terminal to another on the airport bus. Two years had passed since that fateful night when we almost… Read more“Pray and Persist: The Keys to Advocating for Adolescents”

Five Ways to Make Church a Haven for the Hurting

Today’s guest post comes from Amanda Goodman, a brave woman who shares her struggle with mental illness because she wants Christians to understand that they can make church a haven for the hurting. You can find other posts in this series here. On January 26, 2011, our daughter, Brianna Ruby Goodman,… Read more“Five Ways to Make Church a Haven for the Hurting”

What I Learned in May (aka Mental Health Awareness Month)

Until last March, I had very little awareness of the varity and severity of different mental health issues.  I used the word ‘crazy’ with abandon and insensitivity.  If people didn’t agree with me, or their actions seemed incomprehensible to my moral code or background, I wrote them off as loco…. Read more“What I Learned in May (aka Mental Health Awareness Month)”

Suspect Someone Has a Mental Health Issue? Read This

People Never Expect to Have a Mental Health Problem I didn’t expect to hear that my twenty-year-old daughter had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in a text message from my sister-in-law—who heard it from someone who came along with the person who came to the emergency department to evaluate Sarah before… Read more“Suspect Someone Has a Mental Health Issue? Read This”

Don’t Miss the Obvious

In retrospect, I wonder how I could miss the obvious. In fact, looking back at my adult life, I think I’ve missed the obvious on more than one occasion. For example, a student gets caught smoking weed in the dormitory and spends three hours going berserk and ends up in… Read more“Don’t Miss the Obvious”

Accepting the Rescue

Could anyone rescue my daughter? A year and a month ago, I didn’t know if I would ever see my daughter alive again. I had visions of her beaten, bruised body lying unclaimed in a foreign morgue whilst I searched the world over trying to save her. Her life seemed doomed… Read more“Accepting the Rescue”

You Need This Book if You’re Affected by Bipolar Disorder

Here’s the skinny on the book that everyone should read if they know someone with a bipolar disorder diagnosis. I remember the nurse wheeling me out of the hospital with a lanky newborn on my lap dressed in a white onesie with vibrant giraffes strewn all over it. My first baby… Read more“You Need This Book if You’re Affected by Bipolar Disorder”