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Appreciate your children the way they are!
A Schizophrenic, Tapped & Skipped is the true story of your battle to remain hopeful in the face of overwhelming pain, fear, and destruction. Why was this an important book for you to write?
I felt called to write it. I didn’t want to expose my family, but after talking with them and praying about it, I spent many nights pouring over the horrifying situations over and over. I still can’t understand the lack of available long term care for persons with severe mental illnesses. I still care for my daughter every day. I want her to have a better quality of life. I will never give up being her advocate. I’m speaking at my local library and trying my best to do what I can. Being this vulnerable is extremely uncomfortable. My prayer is writing about the reality of loving a person with severe mental illness will reach the people who CAN bring about change.
I appreciate how candid you are in this book. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
The time when my daughters were both homeless. That was such a hopeless dark time. To put myself back in that mindset in order to make it authentic was incredibly difficult.
What is one piece of advice someone gave you that was very helpful?
Write with your heart. Edit with professionals. Lol.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your book?
Never give up!
Celebrate the good things in your life!
Appreciate your children the way they are!
PEOPLE WITH SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS NEED LONG TERM AFFORDABLE CARE WITHOUT A PHYSICAL DIAGNOSIS. (It’s hard to pick just one)
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Website
A Schizophrenic, Tapped & Skipped
Raising children takes a strong will, flexibility, and a love like no other. No one can predict the paths our children will take or what circumstances they may find themselves as they grow, change, and have experiences without us by their sides. We would like to think, as parents, that we know our children and have everything under control. Life, however, makes plans that are often very different from our own. J. Mark Stacy is no stranger to the hardships of raising children. Stacy’s daughters are battling both drug addiction and the beast known as schizophrenia.
A Schizophrenic, Tapped & Skipped: Hope in the Midst of Madness, by J. Mark Stacy, is the no-holds-barred true story of one woman’s battle to remain hopeful in the face of overwhelming pain, fear, and utter destruction. When her daughter begins to show signs of schizophrenia as a teenager, their devastating journey begins. In addition to the battle with a crippling mental illness, the family must find a way to fight back against drug addiction.
Stacy’s book left me speechless. Her writing is raw; she holds nothing back as she shares her family’s story. From her initial shock to her own breakdowns, Stacy does not hesitate to tell readers how incredibly painful her daughters’ battles have been for everyone involved. Her work brings much-needed light to the struggle to treat mental illness and drug addiction. Prior to reading Stacy’s story, I had no idea how incredibly difficult it is for young adults battling debilitating schizophrenia to seek help from facilities. It goes without saying that Stacy’s book will be instrumental in changing the way mental illness and drug addiction are viewed by those of us who have never dealt with it firsthand.
Faith plays a huge part in the way Stacy is able to care for both of her daughters. As the years pass, readers see exactly how much she relies on her faith to do everything from simply riding in a car with her daughter to leaving her to live on her own. Stacy is able to give readers hope through her experiences, as crushing as they may seem.
The heart and soul that has been poured into this work is simply phenomenal. I highly recommend A Schizophrenic, Tapped & Skipped: Hope in the Midst of Madness to any family battling drug addiction or the effects of mental illness. Stacy is an ally who offers a revealing picture of her life while at the same time showing readers that hope does, indeed, exist.
Pages: 245 | ASIN: B09QJ7JZM2
LITERARY TITAN 