Faith in Action

Every issue of Please See Me (PSM) starts with a theme, and I never know how all the pieces will come together, or what connections will emerge among the stories that are submitted and those we choose to publish. And yet, somehow, I’ve learned to have faith that each issue develops its own identity.

Issue 19 is a particularly striking example. Our chosen theme is Heroes—Reboot because we know our healthcare heroes on both sides of the bedrail continue to show up without asking to be recognized, yet they deserve to be seen and their stories heard. They show up believing they will heal others and be healed. At the heart of healing—mind, body, or spirit—is faith, on many levels.

So it doesn’t surprise me that Adam Strassberg, MD, author of December on 5C4, and Deacon Tom and Rita Lambert, whose work has brought mental health awareness and education into the Catholic Church in partnership with NAMI, found their way into the same issue. Faith is a central theme in both interviews, yet their approaches to faith are very different. For Tom and Rita, faith has been the light guiding them through the day-to-day realities of caring for their daughter, Kimberli, who lived with developmental, behavioral, and mental health challenges until her death at 57. Their faith helped them transform a deeply personal journey into work that has helped countless families find a path forward when facing a mental health crisis.

In Adam’s novella, faith takes another form. Through allegory and magical realism, December on 5C4 invites us to explore mental health in ways that reach beyond what we can readily explain or understand.

Different stories. Different expressions of faith. And yet, both ask us to consider what sustains us when life takes us somewhere we never expected to go.

I have come to think of PSM itself as an act of faith. It began with a belief in the power of storytelling to elevate voices and health-related stories of vulnerable populations and those who care for them. I knew so many stories were not being heard in healthcare spaces. I wanted to normalize conversations about mental health, so we offered the Mental Health Awareness Writing Contest, and the community found us. The stories keep coming, and they continue to unite our readers. I couldn’t have known for certain what Please See Me would become. I trust the process. I trust the people who come to PSM, and I trust that the future of Please See Me will evolve as it should.

This issue brings faith in oneself into sharp focus through another story that came to Please See Me: Josette Pelatan’s Homeless With A PhD documentary in the making. The documentary asks a fundamental question: What happens when the systems meant to support human health, dignity, and achievement do not adequately respond to the person who needs them? Josette endured abuse and homelessness as consequences of misdiagnosis while seeking answers to the symptoms that began disrupting her life. The physical condition underlying those symptoms went undiagnosed for far too long. Throughout that experience, she held on to a belief that the diagnoses and labels being placed on her were inaccurate, and she set out to solve the mystery herself. Even when her circumstances suggested otherwise, she pressed on, knowing she was worth the answer. Her story is a sobering reminder that resilience should never become an excuse for failures of the systems and people entrusted with our care. No one should have to fight so hard to be heard, believed, or properly diagnosed. When a patient presents with symptoms that are difficult to diagnose, dig deeper. Don’t give up on them or label them difficult.

And then there is Kimberli, and all those living in intermediate care facilities, navigating an environment that many fear and most of us may never fully understand—even those caring for the residents inside. Rita has spoken candidly about her fear of entering the state facility where her own daughter temporarily lived at age 19. There are realities within these settings that can be difficult to witness, particularly when ignorance, inadequate care, or the behavior of other profoundly ill residents creates additional strain. We can never forget that the people who live there have their own histories, relationships, feelings, hopes, and humanity. They are not their diagnoses, and they should never become invisible or be mistreated because others are uncomfortable or struggle to understand their lives. They are, without question, unsung heroes.

The stories within PSM bring us back to resilience, again and again. But they also ask something of us: to look more closely, listen more carefully, and recognize the person beyond the condition or circumstance. To advocate when we’re in a position to do so, and find solutions when given the opportunity to serve. Deacon Tom captures this beautifully: “It’s not sitting in a church praying, Oh God, do something. It’s praying, God, help me see what I need to do, so that I can go do it.” There’s a difference.

Our first Heroes issue, Issue 5, came out in Summer 2020. Six years later, there are still so many heroes worth celebrating, especially those who touch mental health. So we celebrate the winners of our 7th Annual Mental Health Awareness Writing Contest under the theme Heroes—Reboot. It may be the person who refuses to surrender their sense of self, or the family that turns hardship into a resource for others. It may also be the caregiver who questions an assumption, who acknowledges a failure and apologizes, or who advocates for a patient. It may be someone who submitted their story to Please See Me so that others may not feel alone, like our contest winners: Ellen Gerneaux Wood in Poetry, Becca Saul in Fiction, and Sarah Goldhagen in Creative Nonfiction.

Heroes rarely arrive the way we expect them to. Neither does faith. Sometimes faith is a guiding light. Sometimes it’s the willingness to imagine another possibility. And sometimes it’s simply taking the next step without knowing where the path will lead. May the stories in Issue 19 invite you to slow down and find your own renewed sense of faith—in yourself, in others, and in what becomes possible when we embrace the humanity we share.

With gratitude,

Tracy Granzyk

Tracy Granzyk is the editor in chief of Please See Me.