A few pieces I’ve written in the past two and a half years have been published. I began to write about mental health while my teenage daughter was struggling with some of the worst treatment resistant depression I’ve ever seen. I was a mental health therapist for almost 12 years, so I’ve seen a lot. My articles about my daughter’s journey and our family’s journey were published in the Des Moines Register and the Cedar Rapids Gazette as well as on some mental health blogs. It’s become one of my missions to erase the stigma that surrounds mental health. While my daughter still struggles, we’re finding some things that are helping.
I didn’t give up writing fiction during this time either. I edited a novel I wanted to query, and I planned/thought about my work in progress a lot. I also wrote my first short story (if you can call 10,000 words short). For my own self-care, I went to as many of my critique groups as possible so I could stay connected to my writing friends/community and stay motivated to keep writing.
During this time, I entered a few contests and was thrilled to be a finalist in 2018 Sun vs. Snow, a finalist in Sequestrum's 2018 New Writer Award, and a semifinalist in the Faulkner-Wisdom Contest. I managed to do a bit a querying, too.
Last spring, I finally finished the WIP I’d started almost three years ago. I took the summer to edit it and send it to beta readers. I plan to query it soon.
As I look back at these last two to three years, I realize how much writing is a part of who I am. I could have easily quite or taken a hiatus.
This writing journey I’m on is always a crazy roller coaster, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s my passion and my outlet. I know it sounds cliché, but writing is my light in the darkness.