About Linda
I want to start with truth and end with art.” Ocean Vuong
The truths that were handed me in this life haven’t always been pretty, but by the grace of God I have found solace in writing about them and satisfaction in using them to encourage others.
Along the way, some award-winning poetry, books, and national speaking engagements have happened.
My mother had bipolar disorder during the 1960’s when mental illness was less understood than it is today, certainly less talked about, and treated with often ineffective and outdated drugs. When I was a young mother of twins and a teacher of students with learning challenges, I launched a search to understand my own genetics and the complicated relationships growing up in a family with mental illness. Research and reflections on my childhood resulted in my debut book, Crazy, a semi-autobiographical account of my teen years, written in verse.
Nearing the tenth anniversary of Crazy, Kathleen Mertz, my editor at Eerdmans for Young Readers, asked if I was interested in a rerelease of Crazy. How could anyone say “no” to such a great, out-of-the-blue proposal? The plan acknowledges a post-Covid uptick in mental health awareness and a rise in teen suicides. While the content remains untouched, this issue features a new cover, an author interview, a study guide, and links to mental health agencies.
Whether you’ve read it before or have a recent circumstance in your own life concerning mental illness, I invite you to take a look and consider sharing it with your bookclub, a favorite middle school teacher or student, or a neighbor in need. And then let’s talk. I will love to hear how you connected and how we might work together to stop the stigma of mental illness.
My passion for mental health advocacy didn’t stop with the book. I have served on the Charlotte NAMI board, spoken at two national conventions, and become a cofounder and board member of an internationally affiliated program for mental wellness, Charlotte Clubhouse.
While my twins were in elementary school, I earned a K-6 teaching certificate that took me down another fascinating path to teach students with learning challenges. When two students were diagnosed with a rare childhood disease called Batten, I was inspired to write a fictional account, Behind These Hands, of a family facing the crisis of both children with the incurable disease. In real life the genetic pool often deals this horrific blow. I once again used fiction to tell some awful truths about a little-known disease, both through the book and in a keynote speech to the national BDSRA convention.
Sadly, a late-in-life revelation of sexual abuse in my family has led to my most recent work, an adult poetry chapbook in line with the me-too movement. As with all my writing, I hope to use this as another opportunity to advocate for those who have suffered abuse in any form.
My husband’s ministry has provided the opportunity to sample life around the country, from under the big sky of Montana to the Carolina blue. We have recently relocated to Savannah, GA, to be nearer our sons and grandchildren. Being close to family in a beautiful, historical setting feels like poetry to me.