HAPPY NEW YEAR by Dede Ranahan

The new year lies before me

like a spotless track of snow.

I must be careful how I tread on it,

for every mark will show.

(I altered a little. Original author unknown.)

May 2022 be a good year for all of us.

Photo credit: JR/Flickr

HOW DO WE GET A NATIONAL PLAN FOR SMI? by Dede Ranahan

Just downloaded the White House National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness (198 pages). It lays 7 goals out in detail. To date, 24 million Americans have contracted COVID and over 400,000 have died. Hopefully this will be a time-limited health crisis.

Right now, between 11-13 million Americans (and by extension 11-13 million families, maybe 44 million more Americans) suffer from the ramifications of SMI each year. This crisis isn't time-limited.

The country is being crushed with multiple crises, but our on-going SMI crisis needs to be added to the crises requiring immediate attention -- a National Plan. It's way past time to ask for a National Plan.

From Tomorrow Was Yesterday: “As it stands today, the US mental health/illness system is filled with political landmines and gut-wrenching divisions: parents vs. children, peer organizations vs. family organizations, voluntary vs. involuntary treatment concepts, psychiatrist vs. psychologist turf wars, state vs. federal jurisdictions, HIPAA restrictions vs. parental rights, lack of beds vs. incarceration, unions vs. providers, psychiatry vs. anti-psychiatry, civil rights vs. dying with your rights on, NIMBYism vs. housing, traditional medicine vs. holistic medicine, and funded advocacy organizations vs. unfunded grassroots advocacy efforts. I watched my son Pat die because the system is tied up in bureaucratic and philosophical knots."

There will never be a better time than now to ask for what we need and deserve. How can we make this request?

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GOOD AND BAD IN 2020 by Dede Ranahan

I’m pleased to report that Tomorrow Was Yesterday — Explosive First-Person Indictments of the US Mental Health System — Mothers Across the Nation Tell It Like It Is — is doing really well. Thank you to those of you who have already purchased and read our book (65 mothers from 28 states). Thank you to those who have left reviews on Amazon. Reviews help spread the word.

Some exciting new connections are developing from the publication of this book. Too soon to talk about, but more good things might be coming. Keep fingers crossed…

Click on this link to the book’s page on Amazon:

Meanwhile, goodbye 2020. What a year! A friend, just diagnosed with Covid says, “You don’t really have a bubble because people are careless.”

Please stay safe and well in 2021. Over and above surviving, may the new year bring you and your families many blessings. Love, Dede

Please stay safe and well in 2021. Over and above surviving, may the new year bring you and your families many blessings. Love, Dede

ALL THE BEST FROM ME TO YOU by Dede Ranahan

Thanks to my new kitty, Detective Lucas Whiskers, being sick, and getting old/er, I’ve “set up” my simplest Christmas tree ever. In this chaotic 2020 year, simple feels comforting to me. So I'm sending simple wishes to all.

MERRY CHRISTMAS1 HAPPY HOLIDAYS! STAY SAFE AND WELL.

MERRY CHRISTMAS1 HAPPY HOLIDAYS! STAY SAFE AND WELL.

TOMORROW WAS YESTERDAY - INTRODUCING THE AUTHORS (4) by Dede Ranahan

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.

This book is now available on Amazon: Click on this link.

FROM NORTH CAROLINA
Gwendolyn Bartley: “It’s Kind of like a Daily ‘Sophie’s Choice’”
Gwendolyn is the mother of five (now adult) children through the blessing of adoption and natural birth. She is the founder and executive director of Amazing Grace Advocacy, a non-profit that supports families raising children with brain disorders in Concord, North Carolina. Gwendolyn serves on several community, state, and national initiatives to advocate for access to appropriate services for children with serious emotional disturbances (SED).

Sherri McGimsey: “What Would You Do?”
Sherri is a wife, mother of two sons, grandmother, business owners for 39 years, and a national advocate for SMI. Her eldest son, Matt, has schizophrenia. Sherri’s a member of NAMI South Mountains, North Carolina and serves on the NSSC (National Shattering Silence Coalition). She’s a trainer in NAMI’s Family-toFamily class and in the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) for police and law enforcement. “A Mother’s Prayer for Mental Illness” guides her on this journey.

FROM OHIO
Nikki Landis: “Nikki and Kevin”
Nikki is the mother of five and homeschools her children on a small farm in rural Ohio. She loves to read and learn new perspectives. Her childhood dream was to have a large family, live in the country, and write. She continues to pursue her dreams despite how SMI has affected her life and she encourages everyone to do the same.

FROM OKLAHOMA
Audrey Adams Auernheimer: “For Now I’m Thankful Adam is Alive”
Audrey is the mother of four children, three of whom have been diagnosed with mental illness. Her son, Marty, was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 22. Her only daughter Candace was diagnosed with depression with suicidal ideation at age 12. Marty died at 28 and Candace died at 26 to suicide. Her 30-year-old son, also diagnosed, lives with her. The youngest son remains untreated and barely functional, mostly due to anosognosia.

FROM OREGON
Carole McAfee: “A Mother’s Fight”

Kecia Bolken Speck: “I’m Never Calling the Crisis Team or the Police Again”
Kecia is the mother of two adult children and currently lives in rural Oregon. She works in pediatric occupational therapy and takes care of her 29-year-old son full-time. Her dreams for the future are to change the education of first responders, to ensure the funding of skilled crisis teams, and to decriminalize serious mental illness. “My family’s lives depend on it. Nobody should ever have to go through this alone.”

Sharon Underwood: “Why Is This Okay?”
Sharon is a single mother of four. Her mentally ill son Tim is her youngest child. Sharon’s been a caregiver for the elderly for over 25 years.

FROM PENNSYLVANIA
Holly Alston: “Mommy Please Clear My Name”
Holly’s son suffered from schizophrenia and other mental health issues. He was in prison for over seven years while his mental health was ignored. When Terrell was in isolation, he would scrape his eyebrows off and pluck out his eyelashes. “He was released from prison 8/8/16 and by 8/20/16 he was dead.”

Mary A. Butler: “Let’s Talk About hopeful Voluntary Admissions”

FROM TEXAS
Joyce Berryman: “Stuck in Texas”

Channin Henry Williams: “I See Change Coming”
After 14 years of giving so much of herself to meet her daughter’s special needs, Channin is now focusing on her husband, hobbies, and finding her way. “Raven left the institution on her 18th birthday. Soon all communication stopped. My greatest nightmare came true. How should a mother like me grieve or even feel? It is my supportive family and faith in Jesus Christ that has given me strength and hope that change is coming.”

FROM UTAH
Heidi Franke: “I Am Livid. Shaking”
Heidi is an RN. She’s been living through the diagnosis of her youngest son’s pervasive mental illness and struggles with addiction. Her goal is to empower parents to speak up to help overcome obstacles to care for their children. “By telling our stories, we give permission to others to start telling theirs.” Heidi makes mending herself a personal daily engagement project “as we must put on our oxygen mask first to help those beside us.”

FROM VIRGINIA
Pat Wood: “Our Son’s Preventable Death”
After his first year of college, Pat’s elder son was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. “His death by suicide at age 38 was the outcome we’d fought against for years and was our worst nightmare come true.” Pat’s younger son also has a mental illness. “There have been many medications, hospitals, therapists, psychiatrists, and less-than-successful battles to get the services my children needed. My younger son’s uncertain future remains my concern and focus now.”

FROM WASHINGTON
April: “Helping Mr. K.”
April is a wife, retired direct marketing creator, and sibling to Mr. K. Her mother died seven years ago with no plan in place for her brother’s care other than the designation of “Social Security Payee.”

Jerri Clark: “My Goal Is Not Happiness but Human Understanding”
Jerri advocates for treatment access in Washington State where she started Mothers of the Mentally Ill (MOMI). She and her husband (married since 1994) have a daughter and two grandsons. Their son Calvin died from suicide March 1, 2019.

Jerri Clark with son Calvin

Jerri Clark with son Calvin

TOMORROW WAS YESTERDAY - INTRODUCING THE AUTHORS (3) by Dede Ranahan

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.

This book is now available on Amazon.

FROM MAINE
Jeanne Gore: “We Need A Revolution”
Jeanne is a family member and Coordinator and Co-Chair of the Steering Committee for the National Shattering Silence Coalition (NSSC).

Laurie Turley: “They Should Have Let You Help Me. I Wasn’t in My Right Mind.”
Laurie is a musician, music teacher, wife, mother, grandmother and advocate of “treatment before tragedy.”

FROM MARYLAND
Amy Kerr: “I Feel Incredibly Blessed”

Laura Pogliano: “Zac, My Darling Son” & “Let’s Talk About Real Issues"
Laura is a training and education consultant in Baltimore, Maryland. She lost her only son, Zaccaria, to schizophrenia in 2015. Laura is a former board member of SARDAA (Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America) and leads the Maryland SARDAA State chapter advocating for reform and the reclassification of schizophrenia to neurology.

FROM MASSACHUSETTS
Mara Briere: “A Problem Shared is a Problem Halved”
Mara is the mother, aunt, daughter, and sister of adults with serious mental illness. She’s a Master’s Level Certified Family Life Educator. She founded a nonprofit for families uprooted by mental illness, Grow A Strong Family, in order to generate, share, and develop the resources, support, and network that families like hers need and do not have.

Donna Erickson: “What I’ve Learned About Our Broken Mental Health System”
Donna is the mother of a son (age 35) who has a serious brain illness. “As a mental health reform activist, I hope to see much needed major changes for our loved ones. We are long overdue for a better mental health system.”

Deborah Harper: “I Feared He’d Be Blown to Pieces”
Deborah is a teacher, mother, and friend. She is a designer and photographer. She is a Christian/Catholic.

FROM MICHIGAN
Sarah C.: “It Feels Like the State of Michigan Wants Me Dead”

Kimberlee Cooper West: “Walk A Mile in Our Shoes”

FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE
Theresa A.: “You Don’t Matter” & “There’s No Limit to What a Mother Will Do”
Theresa has been a preschool teacher for many years. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband.

Ashley Doonan/Cathie Curtis: “I Am Ashley. I Define Me.”
Cathy’s daughter Ashley fought a good fight to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness in academia, the workplace, the correctional system, and society as a whole. Cathie says, “Although she is no longer with us, I am her voice.”

FROM NEW JERSEY
Julia Gillies: “This is Exhausting”
”I’ve been a mental health advocate in New Jersey for 11 years. I read. I research. I witness the suffering of those with mental illness as a loving mother. I send emails, texts, and letters, and make phone calls. Yet, my cries for help often go unheard. Change doesn’t happen until action occurs to help those suffering with SMI. We must wake up, educate others, and be persistent.”

FROM NEW YORK
Tama Bell: “Nightmares in the Daylight” & “10 Myths Mental Health Officials Tell Us About Our Kids”

Laurie Lethbridge Christmas: “What an Effing Nightmare”

Karen Riches: “Our Pledge”
”I’m a mom. My son meant the world to me. Jacob suffered with serious mental illness. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Too bad that my son meant nothing to the medical community. He died because of their beliefs and lack of knowledge about mental illness.”

Laura Pogliano’s son, Zaccaria

Laura Pogliano’s son, Zaccaria

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1732974527/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tomorrow+was+yesterday+ranahan&qid=1606247459&refinements=p_n_feature_browse-bin%3A2656022011&rnid=618072011&s=books&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1732974527/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tomorrow+was+yesterday+ranahan&qid=1606247459&refinements=p_n_feature_browse-bin%3A2656022011&rnid=618072011&s=books&sr=1-1

TOMORROW WAS YESTERDAY COMING TO AMAZON NEXT WEEK by Dede Ranahan

So Excited!

Tomorrow Was Yesterday authors great news! Our book will be available on Amazon the end of NEXT week. Be bold. Be proud. Be comfortable in what we're doing — getting our stories out to the unknowing public. I know we'll make an impact. Thank you and love to all of you. Dede

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