Life Sans Depression

I may be reluctant but I'm making an earnest effort to join "social networking".
A recent reunion in OKC where my great nephew was performing with his band, Mockingbird Sun out of Nashville. I tried to tell him there is a lot of talent in the family, but he was wise not to ask me to sing. Instead he asked me to sell tee shirts!

Jill Byrne knows adversity. Born in 1946, Jill survived a love-starved childhood, two divorces, bouts of chronic and clinical depression, a psychotic episode, mistreatment of her illness, and a revolving door of therapists. Through it all, she maintained an indomitable spirit and her sense of humor.  A psychologist for the Tulsa, Oklahoma Public Schools and a licensed, professional counselor, Jill endured her depression from a unique perspective yet unable to escape periods of darkness.  In 1994, Jill experienced an emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and physical integration for the first time and felt cured, but knew that the proof would be in the passing of time.

Today, just over ten years into her depression-free life, Jill shares her story in Step on a Crack. It is a story that will make her readers laugh and cry. It is a story that will inspire anyone in the midst of a life in turmoil, or one who has been diagnosed bi-polar and prescribed senses-dulling medications. Jill's persistence and her insistence on recovering on her terms made her cast a wary eye towards her therapists; and them toward her. She gained the reputation of a difficult client; one that therapists had to "throw out the book" in order to help. Step on a Crack demystifies the helping profession, in part by including in-scene sessions of Jill with her therapists. Though Jill advises readers to get professional help ("Objective support is invaluable"), she offers the caveat, "Try another, if the first therapist doesn't work for you."  Jill has written Step on a Crack to encourage, enlighten, and even entertain others trapped in a depressive existence, that they may one day feel as renewed as she.

A woman who from time to time enjoys a good perm.

Good News! Step on a Crack was recently recognized as a prize winner out of 32 entries in the Oklahoma Writers' Federation, Inc (OWFI) non-fiction book contest!