Mental Health Issues: Lessons from the Talk Show Circuit

audiobook in CD format

In six days, Ben Behind His Voices will be officially released (audiobook version, too - preview it here!), although according to Amazon stats there have been healthy advance sales of the hardcover and kindle versions. So it's out there! But, to spread the word, getting the media interested and involved is a huge help - and it's definitely a live-it-learn-it series of experiences for this author.

So far, as far as print, radio and TV go:

a handful of BlogTalkRadio interviews - great hosts, interesting conversations, not sure who listens but I hope there's a reach.  Archives exist.

The Positive Mind on WBAI inNYC with Armand DiMele. Hour-long, insightful interview with genuine back-and-forth conversation. You can hear it on the "Press" page on this site or on Armand's website.

Interview segments on other radio shows such as Kathryn Raaker's Let's Just Talk, airing on several stations. July 9th segment 1, if you're checking the archives. Kathryn was genuinely interested, as she could personally relate from her own family experience. Great prep, great passion for sharing the message.

Boston Globe interview appeared in print last week - done over the phone, all I had to do was talk. Bloggers have also "interviewed" me by asking questions in writing, to which I responded also in writing- essentially writing my own article, I guess, though interesting  answers can only come out of good questions, yes? (links are on Press page too)

This week I drove to Washington DC to appear on "Let's Talk Live", a local ABC-affiliate daytime talk show.  If you check the archives/blog of that show (9/7/11) you'll see our segment did not make that cut. What did? Plastic surgery and the "Blondes vs. Brunettes" female football game (For a good cause, so not frivolous. But still). Hmmm.

Then I went to tape an interview for PBS show To the Contrary. So my six-hour drive was not pointless. My experience there is detailed in my article for HealthyPlace.com. It made me think, that's for sure. They wanted to know if the book brought anything new to the "mental illness issues" table. In my own personal car-talk on the way home, I found the answer. Yes, what we bring to that table is our story. That's what sets us apart. Of course, we tell the story for many reasons - reduce stigma, increase understanding and respect, advocate for earlier detection, better services, more research. Yes. All that. But if the story grabs you, then Ben and our family will live in your heart, where you might become more aware of these things. That's our real "angle": the human face of the "issues."

More media opportunities ahead - but each is its own experience. Yes, lessons abound. And we've just begun!

PBS, ABC, Boston Globe, and the Flu

when mommy's hug could cure

Ben has spent the night - we've all been there - worshiping the porcelain throne.  Either a stomach flu, or spoiled Chinese food (thanks, Hurricane Irene), but who cares why? Poor thing is in pain. No mom wants to see that. Plus, he is whining! Ah, yes, nothing like a 29-year-old whining "Mommy...." - but whenever I'm sick I want to do the same thing, and my mother's been gone since 1994.

There's an additional issue, of course, when your child has schizophrenia. Will he, can his body, keep the meds down? Last night we carefully orchestrated the meds between episodes, and since they are mainly in liquid form we can only hope most of them got into his system somehow. We counted (believe me, we both had one eye on the clock) 55 minutes from ingestion to, um, rejection.

Ben's main concern, despite his pain? "If I throw up, I won't have to go to the hospital, will I?" I thought, at first, that he was over-dramatizing his stomach pain - but then realized he was worried about having to go back to the psychiatric unit for missing one dose of meds. I'm beginning to think this last relapse really affected him - and that maybe - just maybe - he is connecting the stay to his low levels of meds at the time.

I hope so. but - as always - one day at a time. And this morning, thankfully, he is on the mend.  He had to call in sick to work, which he hates, but at least he's staying put on the couch. And his first question this morning, after making sure we called his employer, was: "When should we do meds?"

taping 9/7/11 - watch for airtimes

Meanwhile - The Boston Globe ran a feature on the book recently, and I will travel to Washington DC next week to appear on an ABC-affiliate talk show live at 11 AM, then tape "To the Contrary" for PBS.   First really big-time appearances for the book. What if they ask me what my qualifications are? I wonder that, too, as readers are starting to write to me, asking for advice that I wish I had for them.  All that I know is in the book, and though I wish I could solve others' problems I know I can't. Here's my thought:"

I'm just a Mom who never gave up on her son - but who also learned that, someday, she might have to."

Please visit the new "Press Room" page,  for info and links to more articles and interviews.