This month, I’m donating all proceeds from my novella, The Poet Heroic, to the Patient Assistance Fund for Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, which is a local facility that helps people with counseling, detox, etc. Absolutely 100% of this fund goes towards helping people pay for treatments they might not otherwise be able to afford.
Why I’m doing this:
Last Fall, one of my close friends committed suicide. I was writing The Poet Heroic at the time, and I constantly thought of my friend as I wrote because he was a twin and my main character is a twin. This book affected me emotionally in ways I wasn’t expecting as a result. It was only fitting that I dedicated the book:
“In loving memory of Jeff, and for anyone else struggling to find the light.”
No one knew my friend was struggling. As far as we know, he never asked for help. His loss hit us all very hard – for many reasons – but one of the hardest things is that he never asked for help and so we were never able to help him. Many of us were left with this feeling that we just wanted to DO SOMETHING. We wanted others who might be struggling to know it’s okay to ask for help. We wanted others to be able to get help.
So, this is something I can DO. In the few weeks I’ve been working on this month-long event, I’ve heard touching stories from many people who have suffered with depression. I’ve heard touching stories from people who have a loved one struggling with mental health issues. I’ve had many people join me because they too want to DO SOMETHING to help. I’ve been very touched by all of the support and donations, and we’ve got a few weeks to go!!
If you’d like to be part of this event, join us at http://bit.ly/MentalHealthAwarenessEvent
If you’d like to enter a raffle for 50+ ebooks! and help spread the word, enter at https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/5acd3f201/
If you’d like to add to my donation to the Patient Assistance Fund, (THANK YOU!), see http://bit.ly/ThePoetHeroicBonusGiving
If you’d like to buy a copy of The Poet Heroic and donate that way, go to http://bit.ly/ThePoetHeroicPurchaseDonation
Please, use this month to raise your own awareness, maybe ask for help yourself, and be especially supportive of those struggling with mental health issues.
Sunshine Somerville 
Leave a Reply