Struck By Living

This is a story of hope. My book about my personal experience with clinical depression reads like a fast-paced novel, with characters that charm and frustrate. The content is tough, but the story difficult to abandon. My book also relates my search for identity. After leaving the business world to care for small children and aging grandparents, as well as adapting to a culture far different from that of my upbringing, I evaporated into my surroundings, no longer sure of who I was. What was my purpose? What did I want? These questions cratered me, setting in motion my genetic tendency for depression. Most people answer these questions without a tour of the psychiatric ward, but my road was bumpy -- the psychiatric ward was only one of many stops. Each time I speak about my experience, I find people are often one step removed from the devastation of mental illness or even suicide. Stories about mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, spouses, and children all make me wonder: Could we have stopped those deaths? If we are more aware, can we see the signs earlier and save a life? I think we can. In that belief, I offer my story. Proceeds from this book will be donated to programs and research to battle mental illness.