Shaping Families

Finding More

“I went to the window, and I said, “God, is this all there is? . . .  Isn’t there ever going to be more to my life again?” – Wanda Lindsay

Wanda was born the middle child between two brothers in a household headed just by her mother. Then her mother died when Wanda was 25 and eventually Wanda was diagnosed with schizophrenia and left wondering what she would be able to do with her life.

Listen - Transcript - Study Guide

Connecting Point

Natalie Francisco

Wanda’s story has implications for us that extend far beyond the awareness of and support needed for those who face mental illness. Although she’s candid about sharing her challenges and how she overcame them with the support of clinical staff, medication and even the care of others, it is important to note that she became aware of something that she could do to focus not just inwardly, but outwardly so that her life could make a difference to reflect her desire to share her personal story and faith with others.

VIDEO:
Shadow Voices: Finding Hope in Mental Illness. A Third Way Media documentary. Hear more of Wanda Lindsay’s story, along with many others struggling through mental illness. This documentary was most recently re-broadcast the summer of 2011 on NBC-TV stations.

Penn Foundation. A leading non-profit provider of community behavioral health services in southeastern Pennsylvania. They offer a wide range of programs for various types and levels of mental, emotional, behavior and spiritual health care needs. Wanda Lindsay serves on the board of Penn Foundation.

Shadow Voices Website.  A companion site to the Shadow Voices documentary with links to many additional resources. Includes stories from the documentary with Wanda Lindsay’s story in more detail.

See short video trailer for Shadow Voices: Finding Hope in Mental Illness, including a short quote from Wanda Lindsay. 

Unsung: Family Voices on Mental Illness radio spots – winner of Gracie and Gabriel awards. Twelve radio spots celebrating the heroic valor of families and friends supporting those with mental illness amid an appalling amount of societal ignorance and stigma and a difficult-to-navigate mental health system.

Natalie Francisco website

BOOK:
The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music by Steve Lopez.

ONLINE:
Mental Health Ministries. Susan Gregg Schroeder’s organization for reducing the stigma of mental illness.

MedlinePlus website from U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health.

Find a Counselor - National Board of Certified Counselors

Find a Psychologist – American Psychological Association

Is This It?

Burton Buller

“God, is this all there is?” Wanda Lindsay, in this week’s Shaping Families radio program asks a question that most of us likely ask at one time or another in the course of our lives.

Carol Lindquist, a clinical psychologist, marriage counselor and mother of two is the interviewee on Shaping Families next week. When Lindquist became a mother, she was personally surprised and discouraged by how hard it is to maintain a good marriage while dealing with teething, toddler tantrums and toilet training.

Lindquist is the author of a book called The Happy Couple Handbook with the subtitle, Marriage: How to Survive Parenting. From Laguna Beach, California, she trains other marriage therapists and maintains a private practice of counseling.

Pumpkin Minis

This recipe comes from the Simply in Season Children’s Cookbook.

• Shaping Families Update - May 12
• Shaping Families Update - May 5
• Shaping Families Update - April 28
• Shaping Families Update - April 21

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