Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Dyane Harwood, author of Birth of a New Brain | Healing from Postpartum Bipolar Disorder at http://proudlybipolar.wordpress.com, nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. I am thrilled and very, very honored. Not only is Dyane an incredible mental health advocate on behalf of women who have suffered from postpartum bipolar disorder, but she has been a wonderful supportive colleague and friend since I’ve entered the blogosphere. I cannot thank her enough for this honor. I cannot thank her enough for her advocacy, her friendship, and her support and belief in me as a writer. The rules in accepting this award are:

• Thank and link the amazing person who nominated you.
• List the rules and display the award.
• Share seven facts about yourself.
• Nominate 15 other amazing blogs and comment on their posts to let them know they have been nominated.
• Optional: Proudly display the award logo on your blog and follow the blogger who nominated you.

As soon as Dyane Harwood told me that she had nominated me, of course I thanked her, and once again, not to anyone reading this blog post: “Thank you, Dyane Harwood!” Seven Facts About Myself

1. I am the proud mother of an amazing 13-year old boy whose identity shall remain private at his request.
2. I married my sister’s husband’s brother. Our sons are “cousins squared,” since they are cousins on both sides of the family.
3. After intermittently struggling with symptoms of depression since I was eighteen, at the age of thirty-nine I realized that I was experiencing mania and was diagnosed as bipolar type II, thus my blog’s subtitle “Life with Bipolar Disorder.”
4. At two different times I attended Fuller Theological Seminary, but did not complete my Masters in Theology. My seminary education and a sense of calling inspires the second part of my blog subtitle, “Thoughts about God.”
5. In 1990 I obtained a Masters in Psychology from New College of California. Since 1992 I’ve been licensed in California as Marriage and Family Therapist, although I have not practiced psychotherapy since I had a breakdown twenty years ago at age thirty.
6. I have moved many, many, many times in my life. Growing up I lived on both coasts and in Saudi Arabia. As an adult, I continued my wanderlust, but kept my moves to the Pacific Coast.
7. I have held many, many, many jobs in my life. My careers have included being a legal assistant, administrator, psychotherapist, and commercial real estate professional. I’m unstable or versatile or both.

The fifteen bloggers I nominate for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award are:

1. Rebecca Moore: Bipolar Mother. Author. Activist. Okay, I know Dyane Harwood nominated Rebecca Moore, too, but I don’t care. I’m highlighting that she is a published author and an activist. Rebecca Moore is more than a storm. Yes, she is a force of nature, but a very productive and prolific one.
2. bi[polar] curious | poppycock from the bipolar spectrum: Sarah Sullivan writes an intelligent, informative, accurate blog on bipolar disorder. She also writes incredibly well. Sarah consistently nails it.
3. A Canvas Of The Minds | A unique collaboration of different perspectives on mental health and life: Ruby and Lulu created this blog to raise awareness and open discussion about mental health.
4. A Way with Words | Writing for Well-Being: Through his writing Tony Roberts is on a mission to bridge faith and mental illness.
5. Hastywords | Turning Tears and Laughter into Words: Hasty started writing as therapy for depression. Her poetry seriously rocks.
6. cynthia romanowski | this is where I write stuff: Cynthia Romanowski’s writing inspires me to be a better writer. She is one talented young woman.
7. iiThinks | poetry for the soul: Ihsan Jaffer is a talented spiritual poet. He writes about the divine. He writes about love.
8. inconsistently yours: Fighting the stigma of mental illness, inconsistently yours writes about what it is like to live with borderline personality disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. Her writing is intelligent, raw, and engaging.
9. maggiemaeijustsaythis: Maggie Mae’s writing is powerfully real and raw. Poetry, Stories, Life, Mental Illness, Death, Divorce, Love, Hope, Pain, Journey, Honesty, Sex, Mystery, Horror, Art, Experience, Abuse, Addiction, Survival, Coping, Misery, How to love the dark.
10. Manic Muses | Musings on Being Bipolar: Manic Muses, like many of us with bipolar disorder, chose to treat only the depressive symptoms of her illness for years until she suffered a major breakdown. Now accepting her diagnosis, she writes to overcome the stigma of a bipolar diagnosis.
11. Nectar Madness: My Bipolar Sapience | Views of a Bipolar lesbian offering intelligent & witty commentary, advocacy, advice, creativity, & reflection.
12. Stigmama: Walker Karraa, PhD created Stigmama to help mothers overcome the stigma of mental difference in motherhood.
13. Teddy Lee’s Blog: Teddy Lee writes about his survival from childhood abuse. His writing is stark, raw, and powerfully moving.
14. The Bipolar Bum | Backpacking and Bipolar II. Taking Manic Depression on tour: Dr. Heckle and Mr. Jibe writes about living with bipolar disorder type II and its treatment as he travels. Dr. H & Mr. J recently created The Skype Support Initiative | Peer-to-Peer Support from Those Who Have Been There.
15. Wendy K. Williamson | Bipolar Blogger Consistently Inconsistent Writer: Wendy K. Williamson and Honora Rose co-authored Two Bipolar Chicks Guide to Survival: Tips for Living with Bipolar Disorder.