About Jill's Book..."AND JILL CAME TUMBLING AFTER"

AND JILL CAME TUMBLING AFTER tells the story of a girl who simply wanted her mother's love and acceptance. Instead, Jill grew up under the iron rule of a woman unhappy with her own life and determined to see that her younger daughter would share her shame. Jill learned quickly from her mother how incompetent she was, chastised for the smallest things such as her inability to carry bread home from the neighborhood grocery. So sure of Jill's shortcomings, Frances did all she could to enhance her daughter's appearance in every way possible.

AND JILL CAME TUMBLING AFTER is the story of a woman who endured a domineering mother, survived two divorces, and eventually overcame a depression that originated early in her life. Jill readily states, "I was born depressed."  From 1974 to 2001, Jill valiantly maintained an appearance of normalcy as a school psychologist for the Tulsa Public School System. She began therapy in 1969, and over time worked through seven therapists - learning something from each, moving slowly forward year by year.

Despite the sadness and struggles, Jill has been able to see humor in the pathos. She is a person who finds herself in absurd situations with "interesting" individuals, and her stories of these encounters provide frequent comic relief in AND JILL CAME TUMBLING AFTER.

Today, Jill is a successful entrepreneur and an accomplished speaker and writer. By going public with her story, Jill hopes to encourage depression sufferers everywhere (estimates are as high as 44 million Americans today struggle with the illness) that they must never give up. Since Americans live in a society that deifies the medical profession, Jill fears that there are many people accepting the depression diagnosis and a sentence of "medication for life" that they don't deserve. Jill speaks from experience when she says, "There is a way out of the darkness for everyone." It may not be the same path for each. What she learned was that part of the solution is simply showing up – because showing up is part of getting to the answer. Even though Jill's recovery felt spontaneous to her, it took years of hard work and slow progression for her to be receptive to that moment.

Jill Byrne is a 1994 graduate of the Hoffman Quadrinity Process where
she broke out of a lifetime of depression and
became a noted risk taker.
  

In AND JILL CAME TUMBLING AFTER, Jill challenges her readers to embrace opportunities for change. She advises that they not ignore family of origin issues, for they will shadow them until they are resolved. She notes how to work with the "helping" profession and advises the reader to find another therapist  if the first one is not a good fit.

Jill and her co-author, Mike Ransom (in Rochester, MN), hope that AND JILL CAME TUMBLING AFTER will encourage those struggling with depression so that they some day have their own moments of integration.

The publish date for And Jill Came Tumbling After is mid-2008.  If you would like to be notified
when it is available, please email us here.