Dallas Morning News Article Featuring Josh and Me- And Chicken Soup Book

Bipolar diagnosis helps mom, son shift thoughts on mental illness
Garland: Mother, son say bipolar diagnosis made them grow stronger
12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, October 11, 2007
By ALICIA M. COLLIER / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
Deborah Rose remembers well the day her perspective changed.

NAN COULTER/Special Contributor
Deborah Rose's short story about son Joshua was recently published in a Chicken Soup for the Soul book.
During a dark period of family chaos, confrontations with strangers over her son's actions and an arson allegation against the boy, a doctor broke the news to the two of them that Joshua was bipolar.
For the Garland mother, the diagnosis carried implications of difficult treatment and shame. But for Joshua, it was liberating. As Mrs. Rose sat in the car trying to absorb the shock, he asked if they could celebrate.
"Don't you get it, Mom?" Mrs. Rose recalls her son saying. "We're celebrating because I am sick. I'm not evil."
Thirteen years later, mother and son can both laugh about the painful past. Mrs. Rose has written about it, too, winning publication of her and Joshua's short story in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Children With Special Needs.
"I remember ... [the doctor] saying, 'No one in their right mind gets in trouble every day,' " Mrs. Rose recalled. "I remember thinking about what it was doing to me as a person and how it was affecting my family.
"But I never thought about how ... [Josh] felt about it."
With a new perspective and a mission to eradicate the stigma associated with mental illness, Mrs. Rose got involved in raising awareness about mental illness, especially among children.
On a whim, she e-mailed her story to the staff compiling stories for Chicken Soup. Its publication – the book came out in paperback in September – opened doors, and today, Mrs. Rose speaks as an educator for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
"I share this story everywhere I go. It causes people to shift their thinking," Mrs. Rose said. "... I've got a lot to say, but sometimes people don't want to hear it. So I'll write it down, and they can read it later."
Today, Mrs. Rose and her son, now 22, enjoy the friendship she feared would elude them during his adolescence. Josh is living on his own and is a caseworker helping homeless and drug-addicted people at the Salvation Army and pursuing a master's in business.
But even with the struggles, he doesn't wish he'd never been mentally ill.
"It makes me a stronger person," he said, noting that his experiences have given him empathy for others who have troubles. "I have a heart for helping people."
Alicia M. Collier is a freelance writer in Plano.