I’m sitting on the lanai (a screened-in patio) outside my parents’ house in Florida trying to work. It can be hard here not to feel like I’m on vacation every day. But I’ve been here a while, escaping the Syracuse, NY winter, and I can’t just lounge by the pool and nap.

Actually the past couple of months have been productive ones. Besides improving my health and fitness and attending the wonderful Florida Christian Writers Conference, I’ve put in many hours writing. I have several articles in the works in addition to this blog. But the biggest chunk of time has been spent on two book projects. The first is nonfiction, working title: Among Lions: Fighting for Faith while Parenting a Kid with Mental Illness. The second is historical fiction, working title: A Hand Outstretched.

When my older son was grown and my younger son was becoming more stable and able to manage his bipolar disorder, I sat down to write. Writing has always been the passion and the plan. At first, I was waiting until the boys were more independent in their work in homeschooling. I figured they would be about 14 and 16 when I really settled in to serious endeavor. But then Nicholas got sick, and priorities shifted. When Nicholas was 18, I finally hunkered down to write the novel set in first-century Britain that I had been tinkering with for over a decade.

Somehow another book kept coming out of my fingers. One for all the parents who were like me — scared and sad and trying desperately to care for their kids suffering from emotional or mental illness. So I set aside the novel, and wrote Among Lions. 

Five Reasons for Writing Among Lions: 

1) There are at least 8 million adolescents age 13-18 in the US currently diagnosed with a mental illness. All of these have parents or caregivers struggling to navigate a very difficult life. One in five kids will need help with depression or other mental illness. This ratio is the same in the church.  Parents need help.

2) Stigma against mental illness keeps families isolated and without support. We need more voices reaching out saying, “This is my experience too. You’re not alone.”

3) Beyond the question of “Can my kid get well?” there are other questions: “Will my marriage survive? How will my other kids be affected? Can my faith withstand this pain?” Parents need more than information on how to help the kid who is sick. They need to know how to defend against the beasts which will attack their souls. 

4) Scripture, stories from other parents, professional input, and new ways of looking at life as a caregiver infuse courage into the soul-weary. This has become my privilege and my mission.

5) This is the book I wish I had when Nicholas got sick.

Among Lions has won a first place Tapestry award and has attracted publisher interest. Would you pray for this project to reach the hearts for whom God intends it? 

Next post: Why am I writing that weird historical novel?