Goodreads asked Carlene Hill Byron:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Carlene Hill Byron Believe it or not, the idea came from my publisher! We were talking about a different topic and the acquisition editor suggested I consider writing about mental health, where I volunteered for a decade and have more than 40 years of lived experience as a person in treatment for her diagnosis.

The overall shape of the book fell into place pretty quickly. I wanted to address several cultural changes that have made mental health worse (in the US and other high-income nations). I wanted to consider changes in how the profession defines "normal" mental health that have made attaining "normal" increasingly unlikely.

At the same time, I wanted to recognize that faith communities have great resources to support individuals in attaining and maintaining our own best mental health. Key among these are ways that faith communities can help people experience meaning, belonging, purpose, value and hope in our lives.

Given that the US CDC says half of us will experience a "mental illness" in our lifetime, the congregation that develops its expertise in these supportive tools is preparing to serve half the population. I firmly believe these benefit everyone, because all people need meaning, belonging, purpose, value and hope.

I hope this book will allow people of faith to discover new confidence in their ability to support those of us who live with mental illnesses. The most important skills are the same ones that allow them to encourage and strengthen everyone else they know.

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