When you are brave enough to speak up, you give power to everyone who hears you. Fear and shame shroud mental illnesses in a way they do few other things. Many people stay quiet about their struggle because they don’t want to seem needy, weak, ungrateful, crazy, or make themselves a burden to others. But when you speak up - when you tell the world that you’re hurting, and do so without cowering, without apologizing, without succumbing to guilt - you are giving others encourag

When it's snowing and I don't have the energy to go play outside, my heart breaks a bit and the little girl inside me lets out a self-pitying wail. But that's how it goes... sometimes it doesn't matter how beautiful it is outside or what plans I have or what errands I need to run. Some really low days, it doesn't even matter what job I need to do... my body and mind say "no". Those days are spent balled up crying, full of self doubt and insecurity. Those days are spent ach

Perfection is an infuriating concept to me. 'Perfect' is based on preference and opinion. When we 'strive for perfection', whose perfection are we aiming for? My idea of self perfection is mental and emotional stability, physical health and strength, a home to return to after a day spent working on something I truly care about, and some friends and family to talk to and enjoy time with. But perhaps your perfect is more specific? More focused on gain? Less interested in home a

Realizing that my characters are embodiments of different symptoms of depression blew my mind and yet made absolute perfect sense. After thinking on it, it also made perfect sense why I’d had a flood of emails and reviews saying how much readers loved the books and identified with the message... but also a lot saying how they didn’t understand what was happening and didn’t care for my writing. Of course though! A matter of perspective changes everything! It changes my whole s