Introducing authors of the 65 stories in Tomorrow Was Yesterday - Explosive First-Person Indictments of the US Mental Health System — Mothers Across the Nation Tell It Like It Is. Available on Amazon in December.
FROM CALIFORNIA
Francie VanZandt: “Prepare Myself? How Do I Do That?”
Francie is 62-years-old and the mother of five children. She’s spent many years working at the elementary school in her rural community. “I am a strong woman. Life has not been easy. Like all of us, a few rough times have come my way. Some of those times I didn’t think I could survive. I did. I manage to begin each new day with the hope I can make a difference for someone.”
FROM COLORADO
Darlene Watkins: “Please Don’t Kill My Son”
FROM CONNECTICUT
Kendra Burgos: “The Caregiver’s Sadness”
Kendra’s hope is that others will know there is love and joy despite the many challenges of living with someone with mental illness. “I am grateful to my husband for teaching me how to love unconditionally and to my children for their strength because it is the family’s struggle as well.” Kendra wants others to know that we are not alone, and there is strength in our stories.
FROM FLORIDA
Ronnie Blumenthal: “No One Asks. She’s Been Erased.”
Ronnie is a mother, advocate, writer, daughter, and wife. “It won’t change unless we talk about it.”
Allison Brown: “Fighting for Change”
Allison is a 37-year-old wife and mother of three. “I want a better life for my kids than I had. I hope to be a voice of change for mental health reform.”
Sylvia Charters: “There’s No Help in the USA”
Sylvia is the mother of two sons. Her son, Jason, had bipolar disorder with psychosis. He passed at age 40 with cardiomyopathy. Her youngest son is undiagnosed and living, homeless, on the streets of Phoenix and is addicted to street drugs. He has symptoms of bipolar disorder. “There’s no help whatsoever for the mentally sick in the USA.”
Sandy Turner: “He Has Schizophrenia, Your Honor”
FROM IDAHO
Angela McCandless: “We Don’t Help People Here”
Angela is mother to four children and grandma to four children. She writes:,“Here are four words to describe me: 1. Organized — organize don’t agonize. 2. Determined — I’ll never give up fighting for my son. 3. Spiritual — I don’t believe in miracles — I rely on them. 4. Kind — I love making someone’s day. My hobbies are decorating and cooking. A favorite quote: ‘If you are on the right path, it will always be uphill.’”
FROM ILLINOIS
Jacque Cowger McKinney: “Too many Families Live This Pain”
FROM INDIANA
Kelli Nidey: “Have You Seen My Son?”
Kelli lives in a little river town in the Midwest. “I hope we can find causes and cures for neurological illnesses in my lifetime”
FROM IOWA
Leslie Carpenter: “What Do I Dream Of Now?”
Leslie is an advocate for people with serious brain disorders in Iowa, along with her husband Scott. They advocated on federal policy changes with all the democratic presidential candidates during the 2020 pre-caucus season. Leslie is a board member of NAMI Johnson County and teaches Family-to-Family, NAMI Provider training, and serves on the Advocacy and Outreach Committee. The Carpenters have two adult children, one of whom lives with schizoaffective disorder.
Dawn MacTaggart Connolly: “What Is the Answer?”
FROM KENTUCKY
Harriet B.: “I’m Going to Brag About My Son”
Martha: “Everyone Needs Hope”
Martha is the proud mother to her son who lives heroically with SMI (or neurological brain disorder). Along with advocacy and prayer, “I long for the day when our loved ones who are suffering will have the opportunity to receive effective, compassionate care like all others.”
Joann Strunk: “Finding Sarah”
Joann is the mother of a smart, beautiful young woman of 33 who has been seriously mentally ill since age 16. “The battle to get her the care that she needs has been horrendous. Our mental health system is beyond broken.”
COMING UP: Mothers from Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York.
Leslie Carpenter