Dear Daniel

Dear Daniel,

The theatrical premiere of Letters to Daniel: From Breakdown to Bestseller will be IMAGINARIUM at the CROWN PLAZA HOTEL in LOUSIVILLE, KY in SEPTEMBER. A major league writer’s convention that will combine all the fun of a scifi and gaming con and film festival with that of a writer’s conference. Me and the team behind LETTERS TO DANIEL have the distinct honor of being the premiere event at Imaginarium.

Me, Missy Goodman, and Pamela Turner will be watching the film that without a great team effort would have never come into being. There are others who are just as responsible for its inception. My parents, Faye and John Keough, (who have, let’s face it, haven’t always been at their best in this blog), my aunt and uncle, Debbie and Frank Gray, who due to some technical errors on my part won’t get to see their contribution shine as much as I would have liked. Then there is Tim Druck and Missy’s beautiful letters which were really touching and added to the film. Again, technical difficulties. And the goddess that is Pamela Turner. She is an artist extraordinaire and deserves to be treated as such.

Letters to Daniel as anyone who reads this blog knows is my attempt to grapple with my bipolar diagnosis and move forward, conquering the world as I go. Hopefully helping those dealing with similar issues, and letting them know that even though the world can be a very dark and foreboding place that there is hope. And that there is a way out. There is light at the end of a very dark tunnel, and no, it’s not an oncoming train.

There can indeed even be triumph over an illness in which relapse can be a a very real part of a yearly cycle. But that therapy and medicine management can teach you how to cope and live and thrive with the disease.

That these tools can teach you that you can not only survive but move out of the pain and get joy out of life once again. That’s what the point of the documentary is for.

It is my grandest hope that everyone who watches it is moved and becomes away that those with mental illness are just the same as anyone else. That the stigma, so often unfairly attached to those who are diagnosed with any kind of mental illness, are seen as those struggling just like anyone else just to make it day to day. Only their issue is depression or bipolar disorder as opposed to diabetes or having lots of kids under foot.

I was once given great encouragement by the likes of Victoria Lamb and Michele Val Jean. People who may or may not know just how much their kind words meant to me. I also received words privately from those struggling with bipolar disorder about how much this blog meant to them.

While the documentary found on this blog will not premiere theatrically until September I’m of the strong belief it can help people today. Please, if you know or someone suffering from bipolar disorder seek help from NAMI, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill or a local mental health facility and know that there truly is hope.

Sincerely,

Amy McCorkle