Hope for Healing Tour: NAMI - Fairfield County

On Thursday, October 11, I had the honor of speaking to a group of approximately 50 people at the First Congregational Church in Fairfield, CT.

The event was sponsored by NAMI - Fairfield County, NAMI - Trumball County, NAMI - Samford County, and Fairfield University. Betsy Entwisle, Peter Case, and Sharon Abbate were gracious hosts to me that evening. The auditorium was set up and ready to go when I arrived. By the way, it was pouring down rain that night. They all came out to my car with umbrellas and h elped me unload the car. Amazingly, everything was relatively dry!

As the 7:30 start time approached, attendees began to stream in. Most of them were nursing students from Fairfield University. I understand they were attending the meeting in lieu of the classroom that week. They seemed attentive just the same.

The presentation was video-taped and will be aired on public access television in the near future. I will post the date and time as soon as I receive the information.

The question and answer portion of the evening was fantastic! There were a lot of great questions. I was touched by a mother diagnosed with bipolar disorder who asked questions about how she could make life better for her two young children. In reality, she knew there would be times when her illness took over and she would not be herself. She had obviously taken responsibility for her illness and her desire to maintain a loving, safe, and open environment for her children was truly inspiring.

Unfortunately, because we turned off lights during the presentation, I don't have any photos to share from the meeting. However, here are a few incredible autumn shots of the area. The first was taken in a park near Manchester, CT.