This Is Why I Wrote It

Near semester end a student told me she had an appointment and had to leave early. That was no problem. Later that afternoon she sent an email apologizing for mixing up the days. The next day in class she apologized again but was quite vague about where she had gone. Her lack of information made me a bit nervous. Then she said that her parents didn’t know. Panic. I encouraged her to share a little—just a little. “I don’t want to say. It’s not bad. I promise.” She typed something on her phone unwilling to even say the words aloud. Turning the phone to me I read the word Therapy.

She was embarrassed. She didn’t even want to say the word, and she didn’t want anyone, not even her parents to know.

No shame in that

I breathed out a soft sigh. “Girl, it’s not a bad thing. Don’t be embarrassed.” I could feel my eyebrows sympathetically lifting and my face softening. She turned red. “I won’t say a word.” She sat down and we carried on with class.

My List, My Rules

I wrote an entire book about the year I did 101 things and the hilarious and challenging lessons I learned from that list. I told this story between visits to my therapist—who I would not have made it through that year without. So when I see a kid who is embarrassed for trying to take care of their mental health I think that’s why I wrote this book. There is nothing to be embarrassed about. The story is out there for anyone (and hopefully everyone to read). No shame. No stifling feelings. Just truth about the big and small waves that are emotions in our complex little lives.

In the acknowledgments at the back of the book, I wrote, “Let’s end any shame over talking about depression. We are all on a journey and finding our way.”

I wrote this book so we could drop the shame of sadness or depression so that we could see our brain as a physiological part of our body that sometimes needs help, so we could find ways to heal ourselves emotionally, so we could know that others are sad too and sometimes they also go to therapy for lots of different reasons. This is why I wrote it.

My wish is that this kiddo sorts through her issues and finds pride in the journey in which she healed herself.

As always, thank you for reading, Lovelies.