Melissa Wray, author of young adult novel Destiny Road interviewed me, Karen Tyrrell on the TRUTH behind ME & HER: a Memoir of Madness.
Melissa dared me to reveal the teacher pressures and passions compelling me to write ME & HER my memoir of RECOVERY.
Melissa wanted to reach the CORE of ME & HER: a Memoir of Madness and the heart of me, Karen Tyrrell author.
Q: Melissa: Writers are sometimes influenced by things that happen in their own lives, are you?
A: Karen: Totally! Everything I write is a direct result from what I’ve experienced first-hand and how those events affected me emotionally.
Melissa: As a teacher there are many pressures placed upon them. Can you share how these pressures impacted on you.
Karen: A violent child was enrolled in my primary school class who wielded terror against me and my students. What was worse: this child’s parents ravaged verbal, written and psychological abuse and threats against me for over a year. This family disappeared for a while.
Melissa Wray
When they returned I became stressed, experiencing screaming night terrors and severe sleep deprivation. I completely broke down, escaped and ran. Police found me in a lonely motel and incarcerated me into a psychiatric hospital. Thankfully I recovered and reclaimed my life.
Melissa: You no longer teach but are still involved with schools. Tell us about that.
Karen: I teach creative writing workshops to Gifted and Talented classes in schools. I plan to deliver Resilience Training workshops to teachers and to students in the near future.
Melissa: You are a passionate supporter of mental health issues. What message would you like to spread?
Karen: STOP the stigma against mental illness. It’s like any other illness. You can recover from mental illness and live a happy balanced life again. I did.
Melissa: Your book ME & HER: A Memoir of Madness is very personal journey. Why did you decide to publish it.
Karen: I needed to share my personal story of why I became so severely ill and HOW I triumphed over mental illness. I aspired to humanize the face of mental illness and dispel the myths.
Melissa: You were recently awarded FINALIST in the mental health achievement awards. What does that mean to you?
Karen: Everything! I’m stoked that my peers recognized my memoir, ME & HER and my community work for mental health.
This award encouraged me to aim higher, to spread the news of hope around the globe.
For the full interview please go to Mellissa Wray’s blog. Please CLICK HERE
Please come back here to comment. Love to hear what you think.
Did Melissa’s interview reveal the very CORE of ME & HER?
Read the first #20 pages of ME & HER: a Memoir of Madness. READ HERE
What else would you like to know about ME & HER and my Recovery journey?
Thanks for agreeing to an interview Karen. It is really nice to get a wide perspective on why people write and the process they go through. I wish you all the very best with everything!
Thanks so much Melissa for requesting to interview me on ME & HER from one Teacher-Author to another. I loved the depth of your questioning and your heart-felt understanding. Thrilled that we can support each other … Karen 🙂
As a former TAFE teacher & Uni Lecturer I have also related to this awesome, frank and insightful interview. Well done both Karen & Melissa!
Thanks Art For sharing your feedback on a teacher to teacher interview on the pressures of teaching turned WORSE. Thrilled my interview resonated with you too … Karen )