Finding Alice (39 page)

Web Sites and Telephone Numbers:

successfulschizophrenia.com

National Mental Health Association (NMHA)

1-800-969-NMHA

www.nmha.org

www.nmha.org/infoctr/factsheets/51.cfm

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)

1-800-950-NAMI; for EMERGENCY call: 1-800-784-2433

www.nami.org

National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression

(NARSAD)

1-800-829-8289

www.narsad.org

National Institute of Mental Health

301-443-4513

www.nimh.nih.gov

A Word from the Author

One of my goals as a writer is to make readers
think
. I love books that stretch me as a person, and I like being transported to places I might not normally have the opportunity to experience. Sometimes those are difficult places, places where life doesn’t flow in a straight line. And much of my recent writing reflects this. I like to tell stories about some of the less traveled roads. Or at least those that often go unspoken of and unseen, particularly within the church culture that exists in our country today.

I truly believe that God wants us to use the various trials from our own life journeys. Why else would we be faced with so many unfortunate situations? I’m amazed at how many trials and tribulations I’ve personally witnessed. Challenges like watching loved ones struggle to find their way through mental illness, addiction, or disorders. It’s not easy to watch your own children contending against such fierce foes, but in the end I feel that I’m a better person for it. Or at least I hope so. And I hope that I’ve been more than just a spectator along the way. I pray that I’ve shared whatever portion of comfort and encouragement I have to offer and that my tears have not been in vain.

My prayer for my readers and myself is that we will learn to embrace life and all its disappointments and upsets and surprises. That we will begin to see God never meant it to be perfect or normal or, worse, ordinary. But he meant it to be
lived
. Lived to the fullest—with him by our side—celebrating the adventure of love and mercy and grace!

O
THER
B
OOKS BY
M
ELODY
C
ARLSON

Novels
Armando’s Treasure
Looking for Cassandra Jane
Angels in the Snow
Blood Sisters

Teen Novels
True Colors series, 1–9
Diary of a Teenage Girl series, 1–8
Degrees of Guilt, Miranda’s Story
The Allison Chronicles, 1–4

Nonfiction
The Lost Boys
Take Time
Women Are Sisters at Heart

Children’s Books
When the Creepy Things Come Out
Just Like Jesus Said series
Rhyming Parable series