Saturday, March 06, 2010 My dear friend author Lynn Scott http://lynnscott.wordpress.com/ fed me a lovely meal today; then she critiqued my letter to Ms. Glenn Close and said exactly what I needed to hear. Lynn reminded me to speak from my heart. Thank you, Lynn!

Dear Ms. Close,

You and I speak the same powerful mission statement.

Your riveting article “Mental Illness: the Stigmas of Silence” for The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glenn-close/mental-illness-the-stigma_b_328591.html, especially revealing the truth about the original ending of Fatal Attraction, and your comment about how “certain words have power over us” in your Aha! Moment for Oprah http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Glenn-Closes-Aha-Moment touch me deeply.

Your delivery of Iris in The Natural has inspired me to be “a good woman.”  Picturing you as Iris (a calm tower of strength) and reading about your confronting mental illness in your family gave me the inspiration to present my book Love Made of Heart to you.

Since the publication of that story, I have spoken openly about how my mother suffered terribly as an immigrant woman with a mental illness.  As a young girl, I had learned from relatives to blame my own mother for “bringing on craziness upon herself” and “not being able to let go of grief like everyone else.”

I was 27 years old when my mother came to visit me and my sister (we were sharing an apartment).  She moved in without any discussions.  In our apartment, our mother plotted her way to end her misery.

Please accept my book as my expression of gratitude to you for speaking openly and unabashedly about the suffering that your loved ones and you endured.

I can see your face when I read the lines spoken by Dr. Gloria Thatcher, the compassionate psychologist in Love Made of Heart.

I’m dedicating this week to writing posts on my blog about you and your work with www.BringChange2Mind.org
The video of you and your sister is most inspiring.  “Words are powerful.”
Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan   www.LoveMadeOfHeart.com

As an author and a community spirit, I, Teresa LeYung Ryan, use my novel Love Made of Heart to shed light on stigmas suffered by women, men and children with mental illness/traumas to the mind. I speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Other resources:

National Alliance on Mental Illness   www.nami.org

Stamp Out Stigma  www.stampoutstigma.org

www.BringChange2Mind.org 1 in 6 adults and almost 1 in 10 children suffer from a diagnosable mental illness.

Actress Glenn Close and Author Teresa LeYung Ryan Share Mission Statement About Stigmas & Mental Illness

archived in the San Francisco History Center

• Everyone recognized on the acknowledgment page of Love Made of Heart
• My agent Stacey Glick and all her colleagues at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management
• Editor John Scognamiglio, president Steven Zacharius, publisher Laurie Perkin, art director Lou Malcangi, sales director Debbie Tobias then, sales director Doug Mendini, author Libba Bray, copy-editor Jacquie Edwards, and Everyone who were at (or associated with) Kensington Publishing Corp. NY (so many talented folks).
• Nancy Suib, Anne Shulenberger and all independent sales reps;
• Folk who are associated with booksellers, libraries, schools, book groups.
• My darling husband, sister & brother-in-law, family members, friends, mentors and colleagues
• Folks related to Women’s National Book Association, California Writers Club, California Reading Association, California School Library Association, San Francisco History Center
• Teachers & students in Advanced Composition/English-as-a-Second-Language classes
• Readers
• Everyone who helped me quietly (the secret angels)

I wish you all a healthful & prosperous New Year!

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan
http://WritingCoachTeresa.com
http://LoveMadeOfHeart.com

As an author and a community member, I use my novel Love Made of Heart to:
• help mothers and daughters speak from the heart
• shed light on stigmas suffered by immigrants
• advocate compassion for mental illness
• help survivors of family violence find their own voices
http://LoveMadeOfHeart.com

Love Made of Heart is the story of Ruby Lin, a Chinese-immigrant-daughter, and her journey to self-forgiveness.