All the Things About Us
In October of 2021, when I decided to start writing letters for Letters Against Depression, in no world would I have pictured that less than three years later I would’ve spent over 500 hours with this organization, made amazing connections with LAD leaders and board members, and…published my own book. But I also wasn’t aware, as a new volunteer, how moved I would be by the amazing community here at Letters Against Depression, and how drawn I would be to the message and efforts being made by so many amazing people here every day.
As a letter writer, I got to connect with recipients, spending over 100 hours writing to anybody from fellow teens to older adults. I got to hear new experiences and learn things myself, as I gave advice to others. After almost a year of involvement, I took the opportunity to contribute more as an intern here at LAD. I learned about grant writing, fundraising, data analysis, and social media. Most importantly I learned about the amazing people that are right behind the scenes, keeping LAD up-and-running and continuing to enhance and add to the community. It was an experience that I didn’t want to step away from after my session as an intern had ended, and I opted to stay on as a LAD Leader, helping out Kim, Rob, and the rest of the team with anything that needed to get done. But yet it was still evident to me that I wanted to go one step further again, and create something of my own that I could give to the LAD community to help support and celebrate the organization as a whole.
That was when my book was first born.
“All the Things About Us”, is quite literally, all the things about us here at LAD, and beyond. At its heart it’s a story about people, and it celebrates the different backgrounds, experiences, and stories of the people that are involved with LAD, and struggle with mental health challenges in general. Each page is a short look into a character’s life: describing a moment in time, an experience, a struggle they’re going through. Each person is a reflection of some part of us, everyone has something to offer, and something to give, and everyone is designed to feel like a genuine person, mimicking us as individuals in some way. All of the short stories about each individual are connected in some way, sometimes not obvious with the first read. Enjoy cover to cover, or open to a random page for a quick read about a character you might find describes you, a friend, or a family member.
From writing each page, bringing each character to life through drawings, and exploring various experiences, backgrounds, and personalities, “All the Things About Us” is one of my favorite accomplishments, as a part of LAD and beyond. Creating the content took the majority of the summer, while organizing the logistics behind publishing and formatting took another couple months more than that. However, being able to hold a physical copy in my hands has made the entire experience extremely rewarding. I’m happy to be able to share this with LAD, and potentially inspire other volunteers to become more involved in the amazing community that inspired this book in the first place.
Thank you to everyone who contributes everyday to making Letters Against Depression such a special organization and community.
If you are looking for a community to join where you can make a real impact, sign up here.
You can purchase a copy of this book through our website or directly from Amazon with the links below. ALL proceeds will go directly towards supporting LAD and giving back to our community. Thank you.
E-Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTXF7M8X Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CV7Z97TD