Author Hopes Insane Asylum Inspires A Change
LETTERS FROM THE LOONEY BIN author Thatcher C. Nalley hopes to inspire people to accept others by stepping outside of their own minds and into the mind of others.
Online, August 20, 2013 (Newswire.com) - The new book, LETTERS FROM THE LOONEY BIN, takes the reader on a personal and human journey of what goes on inside the minds of asylum patients. Although the stories are fictional, there is a human spirit that the author feels is real.
After working for more than six years at the Butte County Behavioral Health Department Thatcher C. Nalley has personally witnessed the inside world of mental illness. "I worked inside a mental illness crisis unit where patients would check in when their mental illness had become so unstable that they were at the point of wanting to hurt themselves or others. The unit saw patients whose mental illnesses ranged from a sudden bout of depression brought on by an unexpected crisis, to severe schizophrenia. The diagnosis, however, was never what mattered. What mattered was that these were individual people and not just a diagnosis."
Thatcher also worked as an educator at a Rape Crisis Center and as an educator for a Child Abuse Prevention Program.
A common theme with the characters in her book is the impact of childhood on adulthood. It is one of the "light bulbs" that Thatcher hopes to convey to her readers. "There are a lot of different dynamics that are behind behaviors that we don't understand." She says. "For when a child's brain and body do not develop in a socially healthy manner, it can result in adult behavior that may not be deemed as normal. Unfortunately, however, these social failures are generally the result of parents whose own abused childhood brain and body also failed to develop in a socially healthy manner. It's a vicious cycle."
"My experience at the crisis unit and my passion for the prevention of child abuse has helped me realize the desperate need for educating about the damaging effect of childhood trauma. The desire to help this generation understand the importance of being a parent before and after they assume the role is what made this book....well... meant to be".
Set in the 1970's, LETTERS FROM THE LOONEY BIN is a collection of letters from thirteen different patients of the Emerson Rose Asylum. Each letter tells of the patient's childhood experiences and how it is that they came to be a patient at the asylum. Ultimately, these letters unveil a heartfelt story about who these patients really are as fellow human beings. Although this is a fictional piece, Thatcher hopes it can aid in creating a new generation that will better understand and accept those who suffer from a mental illness, as well as those we may not understand just because they are "different" from us. "We tend to get so caught up in why we fear that person that we forget to ask ourselves why we should not fear that person." Thatcher explains, "Fear is the core of negative thoughts. Getting to that core and then away from it can be very empowering."
LETTERS FROM THE LOONEY BIN is available now as an e-book and in paperback on Amazon.
For more information please visit www.THATCHERCNALLEY.com