A Word on Writing About Mental Health...

Time for another update! PINING FOR YOU is in draft form and currently with my agent and beta readers. I'm hearing good things so far.  I wanted to share another beautiful picture of Jim Thorpe that I took while pondering my recent writing journey. I had quite the view. It was near the Asa Packer Mansion, which I have yet to tour.

The experience of writing this book has altered my mindset in ways I'm still comprehending. As my fellow writers and authors know, writing is a fulfilling but tiresome endeavor. It can be joyful and exhausting. Writing a full-length book in two and a half weeks was so much more than just that. It was a spiritual experience that has left me wondering where and why I was able to find the words. I've never written more honestly and from my heart. It was as if the book wrote itself. I’ve never had an experience like that before, and I’ve written a dozen books. Granted, the book is inspired by real events, but there are important themes that I'm still uncovering as I re-read and edit.

I want to share those themes in separate posts as I continue to decompress and think about the story. Today I want to talk about mental wellness. There is so much stigma associated with mental health and attending to needs. The characters in my story are older and therefore have life experiences which, of course, include previous failed relationships and family dynamics. Trauma responses are real, and the triggers associated with the trauma are too. The female main character (FMC) suffers from both hyper-independence and people-pleasing patterns. While they seem to oppose one another, they exist due to things she learned in childhood, as a middle child, about being both self-reliant and accommodating to others. As an adult, she struggles to accept help, avoids conflict, and puts others’ needs ahead of her own regularly. The MMC struggles with similar issues. They fell for each other for a reason.

I guess what I hope readers will take away from my book in regard to mental wellness is that we should strive to attend and check in with loved ones. Everyone has their own struggles, but connection and compassion are what fortify relationships. Sometimes I don’t think we realize how reaching out can truly have an impact for the people in our lives.

More updates and thoughts soon…