Fund Theresa’s Publishing Dream-Stigma Fighting Role Model

Please join me in funding Theresa’s dream to publish her memoir telling her life story coping with mental illness. Set forth below is a little more about Theresa in her own words.

I've endured psychosis having hallucinations, mania, anxiety, depression, paranoia, OCD and hearing voices. I've been suicidal. By the grace of God, I've recovered from 4 hospitalizations since 1999 after being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder while a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame. The one friend that visited me in the hospital twice at Notre Dame was Maria Alevras-Chen.

25 years later, I am writing a book called "My Brain Makes Me Proud,"

to share wisdom and give hope to people with mental illness as a stigma fighting role model.

I cope through music, faith and comedy along with taking my medications vigilantly with an excellent clinician and see counseling that keeps me grounded.

My brain makes me proud because of what I've overcome and how many people have praised my brain despite my everyday difficulties. I earned a 4.0 GPA in graduate school to make my story more powerful about how God has resurrected me and to prove to myself that I can indeed excel in school despite my serious mental illness.

I taught myself how to write music, and I studied viola as an undergrad at Notre Dame with a Chicago Symphony Orchestra violist.

God is an anchor during difficult times. I've gathered much wisdom, strength and peace from my faith in Christ and learning scripture.

I learned Improv to make people's day including my day through humor. Ironically, while sitting in the car waiting to go to Improv class, I was talking to the suicide hotline. Comedy salvaged me from my depression!

Today, I am a pastor's wife to Nick Teller in California,

a mother of 4-year-old twins,

and I am holding down a part-time job to pay for the production of my book. I'm halfway there, needing to raise $7,000 more to publish and market my book and get my story out there that I firmly believe will help people. I've been interiewed on TV 4 times to tell my inspirational story including my first appearance live on PBS.

I am a blog writer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) St. Louis and NAMI Southwestern Illinois chapters. I've testified before the Missouri legislature

that helped defeat a bill that would have been harmful for patients on Medicaid, and my letter to the editor on the subject was published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

I've spoken before hundreds about my story weaving the telling of it with my original music on the piano.

Please consider contributing to continue my active mission by donating or sharing this post. I've survived stigma, rejection and betrayal. It's a story you'll want to read, and trust me, it has a redemptive ending! I just need the funds to get it to print.

I plan on self-publishing to create the best product possible and with a marketing plan to share my story with as many people as possible with Palmetto Publishing, a reputable company.

Feel free to share this with others who would be interested.

My website is www.mybrainmakesmeproud.com

It has my media, blogs, pics and story. Enjoy!