(8-20-24) Six months after I was diagnosed with Stage Four Lung cancer, I remain in remission with only a few troubling side effects. I continue to spend my time focused on my family (especially my local grandchildren) and my health, but recently I agreed to sit down with Poonam Sharma creator of The Release Podcast.
The interview was much different from others because she asked probing questions about what I have learned from my books about the need for human connections, especially lessons from No Human Contact, which describes the life of Thomas Silverstein. He was held under the most isolating conditions allowed by law by the federal government for 36 years after murdering a correctional officer.
Discussing human connections is important to me because individuals with serious mental illnesses often are the most isolated people in our society and recognizing humanity in each person and developing relationships with those who are often invisible or on the fringes is essential to recovery.
Caveat: I say in the podcast that I am “not religious.” What this means is that I am no longer attending church or participating in organized religion, as I did nearly all of my life. I have soured on denominations and religions which condemn others who don’t share their beliefs. I believe in God and pray for guidance daily but I accept that none of us truly knows God. I do not know if there is a heaven or consciousness after death. Instead, I acknowledge what is written in 1st Corinthians 13:12. “For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then shall I know, even as also I am known.”
Are some people beyond redemption? Are individuals born bad or is hate taught?
Why did I become a journalist and author? How am I dealing with my own “death” sentence? What have I learned from my mental health advocacy, as well as my interviews with notorious spies, criminals and killers?
My son’s mental health breakdown was horrific but it also dramatically changed my life, giving me a purpose – a mission. Helping others ultimately is what gives your life meaning.
Please subscribe to her podcasts with a wide range of interesting people. She asks questions that others don’t and gets answers that often are worth hearing.
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