This is a passage from the book I just finished. "Then one day a few momths into treatment,it all became too much .... I was tired of it all; and I didn't understand why I had to go through any of this, or how it was saving me. The gentle calming words touched me in a very prsonal way, when she told me she was a survivor. If she can make it ....then why can't I? I had a whole new perspective on my future. Until that moment, I had never thought of myself as a posible surviver. I'd been so lost in my own trouble.... The example that she set, gave me the strength and determination not only to make it through my treatment, but to become a survivor myself. " This is basically how I felt when I found out I was not going to be stuck in a mental hospital or group home, but could live a fairly normal life by myself or with Walter. I've been out of a hospital environment 6and!/2 years now. And the only reason I went then, was because I grew tired of taking insulin 4 times a day. {Plus I wanted to get away from my husband for awhile.} Not Walter. Now I've gone past being a survivor, and as long as I take my medicine I can live a fairly normal life. With Walter, it's more than a normal life, it's paradise. I really am happy I married him; and I have been happier than I have ever been. It's not all due to him though. Part of it is because I've gone past being just a survivor. Mary Lou
