At the age of 25, I was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar tendencies—a diagnosis that changed the course of my life. Over the years, I experienced countless doctor's appointments, medication changes, dealing with difficult emotions. The challenge of learning how to live with a mental illness without medication, ending up in jail, living in a state institution while still holding on to my identity, faith, and purpose.

This book is not intended to replace professional medical or mental health care. Instead, I share my experiences, the lessons I have learned, and the strategies that have helped me become more resilient in hopes that they may encourage those with mental illness to ask better questions, learn more about themselves, and become active participants in their own well-being.

Learn not have to chase people for acceptance, approval, likes, friendship, or love. People may misunderstand you. They may criticize you, judge you unfairly, disrespect you, or reject you. Forgive them when you can but never allow their opinions to become the measure of your value.

Sometimes protecting your peace means walking away from negative people. Sometimes it means becoming comfortable with being alone long enough to truly know yourself. And sometimes it means learning that you cannot control what other people think, say, or do—but you can continue working toward greater control over how you respond.

Life is not a continuous sequence of consistently being happy, feeling wonderful, and performing actions correctly. Life is not a series of enjoyable experiences that quickly change. Life is characterized by peaks and valleys, ups and downs, periods of great pleasure and great sorrow, good health and terrible pain.