Dear Daniel

Dear Daniel Craig,

This blog, if you take nothing away from it, should be those with mental health issues, are members of society deserving of equal respect and the kind dignity one would give anyone who might be considered ‘normal’. Nothing will bring the claws out in me faster than the bullying of and maltreatment of anyone with a mental health issue or those who are their supporters, friends, families, husbands or wives.

Those with illness deserve to be treated kindly with tenderness and care. And most of all they want to be treated with respect. Very few of them play their situation for pity, and their pride often keeps them from getting the help they so desperately need. But when one has a mental illness be it PTSD, Depression, Bipolar Disorder, ADHD, or those wrestling with Autism, they aren’t to be mocked or feared or bullied by those who refuse to understand and treat them as an ‘other’. They, we, deserve to be treated with kindness and compassion. And our family and friends who stand by us day by day deserve to be praised for their patience and love, no matter what form it comes in.

And I feel when one of us are attacked out of simple ignorance, the simple fact of not knowing better is one thing. But when you willingly spread venom against someone because they are different and can’t begin to fathom the damage you are inflicting upon the person with a mental illness and their support network. And of course then there are the liars.

People who hone in on someone’s weakness and exploit it for their own gain. I know people good people. Honest people. Who have worked hard to get where they are. And are being attacked for no good reason. As you know I’ve been attacked and lied about and my bipolar diagnosis was at the heart of the attacks. People lying about me threatening that I’d never eat lunch in this town again so to speak.

All I can say is the issue was resolved and I’ve already caught the interest a distributor at Film-Com and I can’t wait to go.

Other people’s victories are smaller but no less important. Some survive the war, only to need the help of friends and family to find new solid ground. And a new ‘normal’. They are to be praised and commended.

I have my support network. My first line of defense has always been Missy Goodman. I often think of Beaches when I think of our friendship. No, we did not bust up over a man. And no neither one of us is dying from cancer. But she is my rock and even though we may disagree she would cut a bitch for me. Then there’s my Mom and Dad. They have not always fared well on this blog. But you know parents and children are going to disagree. And I have to admit where it comes to the Letters to Daniel film they and Aunt Debbie and Uncle Frank have been superheroes in helping getting it done.

Then there’s my half-evil, 333, friend who next to Missy is someone who doesn’t judge me for who or what I am. She’s helped make Letters to Daniel the film a possibility too. She’s my angelic friend with horns, a tail, and a pitchfork. Her weapons of choice are a rocket launcher and a flamethrower.

Then there is my biggest professional friend. Delilah K. Stephans. She is, in a word, AWESOME. A loyal wife. A solid sounding board. A talented writer. And a woman with a vision for publishing success and talent for cover art that transcends it’s form. She’s constantly learning and the way she describes her husband and the way he treats her is one those things from a fairytale.

Mental illness is a thing not to be held up and mocked and blamed for someone else’s discomfort. For the person who feels uncomfortable around the mentally is the one with the true problem, not the other way around.

I graduated therapy and have been mocked for this blog and the form I chose to put it in. I had people say things like I was obsessed with you and thought I was going to marry you. GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK! YOU HAVE NO IDEA I EXIST, AND YOU’RE MARRIED FOR GOD’S SAKES TO ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMEN ACTING TODAY.

These same people called me crazy. Delusional. And it hurt me because I thought these hypocrites were sweet loving people who called me their friends. I had learned my lesson. They didn’t understand me and they certainly didn’t understand the purpose of this blog. Now they’re going after a friend of mine, I won’t say who. They’re much too private to spill their pain and anguish out in public. They’ve chosen to take the high road. To that I say bravo, as I had to take the high road not that long ago myself. I won’t spread that story either.

The lesson I learned there was the truth will out. And hopefully for my friend it karma does for her as it does for me.

Sincerely,

Amy McCorkle