Gum on My Shoe

Check out our top posts for the past month. Posts are listed by number of pageviews, most popular first. 1. Get It Right When Asking for Help with Bipolar Disorder, by Julie A. Fast 2. I Have a Mental Illness, by Roiben 3. Time to Talk, Time to Listen, Time to Care 4. Mom, Mania, and Me, by Diane Dweller 5. Lifting the Curtain: Brightness, Joy, and Vigilance 6. I’m Never Giving up on You The three most visited pages were Contact Us , News & Appearances , and our Resources Page .  

UPDATED : Last updated November 2017, to add Columbus Metropolitan Library (Ohio, USA) and MaineHealth Learning Resource Center Lending Libraries (Maine, USA). As authors, Fran and I naturally want our book to sell. But more importantly we want it in the hands of people who are keen to read it, whose lives might be enriched and changed by it. That means having it in libraries where it can be borrowed by people interested in it, without necessarily wanting or needing to purchase a copy. As a friend of ours, David W. Jones, recently put it: “Getting your book in local libraries may or may not gain buyers, but it does gain eyeballs and it helps folks who may otherwise be unable to just buy a copy right off.” We are happy to share a number of libraries where can find our book. There are more all the time—let us know if you find another to add to our list! Newcastle City Library (Tyne & Wear, England) Library website | Online catalogue I contacted my city library here in ...

“I have a mental illness”, is not a phrase people say lightly. It certainly shouldn’t be. But the reasons in today’s world are not that mental illness can be horrifying and life threatening, but rather that there is an incredible weight of stigma in the world. If a terrorist attack happens “that person must be crazy”. If a politician does something we disapprove of “he must be crazy”. So, what about all those people in the world who have real, sometimes harrowing, mental illness? Should they just “pick themselves up, and get better”? Is it really that easy? My answer is no, it is not. Mental illnesses are often complex and confusing and there is much more to it than just “deciding to be better”. Mental Illness can in many cases originate from a person’s past and how the mind deals with that, perhaps it is ingrained trauma, perhaps something from childhood, perhaps it is reactive and stems from stress at work—everyone is different. It is something that should always be taken on a cas...

As I write this, Fran is heading out to a gallery opening in Portland, and then to a classical guitar concert. Before she left, she said to me: i feel so good.. it’s really strange.. my mind is thinking thoughts that are good.. and it’s effortless.. After months, first of depression and then debilitating fatigue, it is still early days, but something does seem to have shifted—or rather, to be shifting. It is wonderful to see the light in her eyes again. To sense hope again. To witness the transition from darkness into light once more. We are both aware of the need for vigilance. Bipolar is like that. Any brightness, any momentary joy, each lifting of the curtain, is suspect, and may be the prelude to mania. But as I told Fran today: You are doing well, and it feels wholesome to me. We will be vigilant. But don’t be scared to have a nice time, to smile, to find ease and enjoyment. These things are your right. You are worthy of them; of goodness, of living life fully. ...

Check out our top posts for the past month. Posts are listed by number of pageviews, most popular first. 1. Get It Right When Asking for Help with Bipolar Disorder, by Julie A. Fast 2. Time to Talk, Time to Listen, Time to Care 3. “You’re shaking!”—When Marty Met Frannie 4. TEDx Speech by Sharon Sutton 5. The Long-Distance Caring Relationship: Our Interview for Onlinevents 6. People Always Disappoint, by Andrew Turman The three most visited pages were our Resources Page , News & Appearances , and Contact Us .