In April of 2025, we launched the Speak Out Loud YouTube Channel, and as part of introducing ourself to a new audience on this platform, we've gone back to share our story and the story of Speak Out Loud.

We are not therapists of doctors, but we do feel like we are experts in authentically sharing our story and the hard-learned lessons of living many years in the ups and downs of our mental illness recovery journey.

This episode is part 2 of our story, picking up with the mental health crisis that changed the trajectory of our lives and has shaped much of our years since then.

In this episode, we share about our first experience with a mental hospital, the early seasons of outpatient treatment and seasons of what felt at best like "treading water." Stacee shares the transformational conversation and story which led to her 4 month inpatient treatment program for anorexia at the Laureate Eating Disorder program. This conversation also became the title of her first book, You Are Worth Saving.

We share lessons learned such as recovery is not linear, denial is the opposite of hope, and resilience is the master skill.

We also share about the founding of Speak Out Loud and how Speak Out Loud has continued to expand its platform to share hope with wider audiences around the world.

As you listen to our story, we think you may find pieces of your own, and our purpose is for you to know you are not alone in your or your loved one's mental illness struggle.

Psalm 118:17 says, "I will not die but live and will proclaim what the Lord has done." This is Stacee's life verse and the heart of Speak Out Loud. Let's experience hope together!

To find out more about Stacee and Doug and Speak Out Loud, please visit www.speakoutloud.me.

We invite you to visit and subscribe to our new YouTube Channel which can be found @speakoutloudme.

Follow Stacee and Speak Out Loud on both Instagram and Facebook @speakoutloud.me

Other resources offered by Speak Out Loud:

Find both of Stacee's books, You Are Worth Saving and The Boat that Wouldn't Sink on Amazon.

You can access our free 5-day devotional series in the YouVersion Bible app by searching in the app for the Bible Plan titled "Hope for those Struggling with Mental Health."

Thanks everyone for listening today!