It’s been a week of conversations on mental illness and paths to healing. First with Susan Lambert at In the Balance and then with NAMI‘s podcast Conversations from Studio B. Both shows will air in the next few weeks. It’s has been wonderful for me to continue to make more connections along the journey of this book.
Many and you dear friends have been reaching out lately asking when my next reading for To Lose the Madness will be. I will admit, I had to step back from public events for a few weeks to regroup and practice a bit of self-care after pushing myself with a heavy tour schedule throughout March/April, the TEDxTalk, and my larger work for the Radical Authenticity Community.
Being a part of the great conversation on mental illness is so vital at this juncture in our society and I treasure having a voice it, but I’ve also had to come to terms with the acclimation of being naked on stage (in many senses) and discussing what was a very hard period in my life on a very public platform.
I wrote To Lose the Madness with no intention of it becoming a book. I wrote it to save myself and I chose to release it because the conclusions I came to (albeit messily) seemed to help others who were enduring the same dark times.
I have come to believe that healing is an alchemy of transcending meaningless suffering into something of significance…and make no mistake, that alchemy is work. Healing is work and it is never complete—it is a journey, not a destination—and self-care is step-one in grounding one’s self when the flood comes.
We’re all going through our own crises, both as individuals and as a nation. We will all continue to fight the battles that need to be fought, both for within ourselves and for one another. But my advice to you, dear friends, is the same advice I am giving myself right now: Be gentle with yourself, guard your calm, don’t let self-care fall by the wayside, and stay grounded.
(Photo: White Sands, New Mexico Spring 2018)
