Why Did I Write A Book?

Around this time last year, November 2018, I was on LinkedIn when I got a message from Eric Koester, a professor from Georgetown and the founder of the Creator Institute. The Creator Institute gives anyone with the passion to publish a book the platform to do it from with their own publishing house: New Degree Press. He messaged me to see if I was interested in writing a book. Of course, I am, I thought upon first receiving the message… but what’s the catch? No catch—he just wanted to help creators bring their stories to life.

I remember being so anxious about getting on a phone call with Professor Koester about my book ideas. Do I want to bring my poems to life? Do I want to write a psychological mystery novel? Though I am passionate about poetry and mysteries novels, these aren’t necessarily my forte. We discussed my 10-year life plan and my 5-year life plan, and in minutes we quickly figured what I am extremely passionate about and where I want to leave a mark.

For so long, I have been trying to be a voice regarding mental health. But it can be hard for people to hear you if they don’t want to listen.

I’ve been thinking that, as I say in my introduction “We should be opening up the conversation and making it acceptable to discuss our emotions and mental illnesses. We should not make people feel like they are abnormal when their heads are unwell.”

For about two years, I wrote mostly about mental health on the Odyssey Online. Why not write a non-fiction book on mental health? Even better, why not cater it to people like me? Those dealing with mental health issues often struggle to talk about them with their families— especially with their parents. This is even more pronounced in immigrant families where the first generation fled horrible conditions, making the second generation’s issues difficult to relate to.

If we compare this first generation born in the United States to the first generation to live here, we start to notice common themes within their points of view. And that’s when we can talk about competing ideas.

Over the next weeks, I’m going to be sharing excerpts and stories from my book, The First Generation, in this article series.. in fact, today I’m giving you a sneak peek from the introduction that details exactly why I wrote this book and how it will help you: 

A mental illness warrants attention. We cannot help but notice someone on crutches, but when’s the last time you were able to identify someone with depression or with anxious thoughts? These illnesses are not seen, so we might often think, “It’s only in your head!” That, by definition, is not wrong, although it is slightly insensitive. It is a mental illness for a reason; it is just that—mental.

It is so hard to identify sometimes because some people are extremely good at hiding their illness. If we can learn how to recognize it before it is too late, then we are on the right path.

Everyone’s journey with mental health is continuous and part of that ongoing process is to educate others along the way. Hopefully, by being an advocate for mental health normalization, other people will feel more empowered and realize that it is not such a scary thing to talk about. It is scary to be the first person to do something, but it can also be extremely rewarding.

While it is difficult to live with, it can be equally as hard for those around us to understand it. So, any progress forward is a step in the right direction. Being able to speak about mental health freely is one way we are able to normalize it.
While it is hard to talk to family members whose experiences growing up were very different from ours, it does not mean we cannot break down barriers and find common ground to discuss something that is not spoken about, but is so incredibly important that it deserves a conversation. We need to find a support system that allows us to have these conversations.

I’ve talked and written pretty openly about my mental health as I am going through it and find it important to talk to my friends about how I am feeling. In my first chapter, I have mentioned that my support system is one thing in my life that I am the proudest of.

“My close friends urged me to find someone again and even promised that they would come with me to my appointments. ‘You are not alone, Eileen. You are never alone. You have got me,’ they would remind me.”

While I’ve always talked about my experiences, this book also would give me the opportunity to do something that I never did with Odyssey, which was talking to other people about their mental health journeys.

Mental health is so incredibly important, and while there is continuous growth in the right direction, the stigma has not lessened nearly enough. There are some people that are still afraid to talk about their experiences, and I hope that I can instill some sort of courage in them to break their self-stigma.

In my book, I stress that it is absolutely okay to talk about what is going on. What is stressing you out? What is making you feel sad? It is okay to feel these things and to talk about it. In fact, talking about it has positive benefits, although you are vulnerable and sharing can be scary.

I always want to remind people that I am here to offer a listening ear, and my articles continue to elicit people that want to just unload. In my book’s introduction and throughout, I note significant statistics regarding mental health.

The ADAA has noted that “Almost 75% of people with mental disorders remain untreated in developing countries.” And Mental Health America notes that 56% of American adults with a mental illness do not receive treatment.

Mental health is a hard journey to trek, but it is not one that has to be explored or walked alone. Find your adventure buddy and know that you are not alone.

The First Generation launches on December 2nd on Amazon! If you want to read more stories and excerpts from my book – please fill out your name and email here to be a part newsletter to get updates on when the next article on LinkedIn goes live, and also with the link to my book when it publishes in December. If you want to connect, you can reach me here via email eileen@eileenstremming.com or connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eileenrenee_/.