Describe your book, “"Redemption Through Forgiveness: How God Used My Mental Illness To Save Me,” in a few sentences.
This is a story of how God used the mental illness I developed due to my troubled relationship with my mother to eventually save me from self-destruction. My heart was so infected with resentment and hatred toward my mother that I was unable to understand God’s forgiveness and love toward me. It wasn’t until God challenged me to forgive my mother that I was finally able to realize and accept His love and mercy.
Who do you think would most appreciate this book?
Any person who has struggled with feeling unloved and unworthy, or who has had any kind of abuse or trauma in their lives, or who are struggling with hatred or unforgiveness toward another person who has hurt them, will hopefully be inspired to turn to God for mercy and healing.
What inspired you to write about your experience?
In my search for a way to use my experiences with abuse and mental illnesses to share my faith, God inspired me to use my writing talent to try to reach out to and inspire other people.
For people unfamiliar with Multiple Personality Disorder / Dissociative Identity Disorder, can you tell us a bit about it?
This is an incredibly complex disorder during which a person, usually as a child, creates other personalities within themselves to try to cope with abuse or trauma. During the initial stages of this disorder, the person allows the various alters to manifest themselves to function within daily life. The alters can have their own “names” and “mannerisms” so that it appears that there are different “people” existing in one physical body.
Your understanding of your condition changed once you viewed it from the perspective of the personalities are Christian alters. Did you always have a relationship with God growing up? Or was it something that developed with time?
I never had any type of relationship with God growing up. My family never acknowledged God in any way. I did not learn about God until I was nearly twenty years old. At that point, a co-worker told me about God.
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| Author Lisa Slaton. |
Forgiving your mother was a major transition point in your life. Can you walk us through your experience with this?
I would not be able to do justice trying to explain it here. It is best described in my book. It was a long and difficult journey that ended in an unexpected way for me.
How long did you struggle with multiple personality disorder / DID before you found your solution? Did you have any success with treatments?
I realized I had something going on when I was a child but did not learn that I had this disorder until I was an adult. I was in mental health treatment for many years and developed a deep level of understanding and appreciation for this disorder through therapy. I had a great amount of success learning to live with this disorder. Having this disorder has enriched my life a great deal. Not only did it help me survive a dysfunctional childhood, God used my disorder to bring me into a relationship with Him.
Did writing the book take you to unexpected places or reveal things you hadn’t thought about before?
Writing this book brought back many forgotten memories and brought me even closer to God than I was before I started the book.
Do you have any tips for people struggling with mental illness?
There is no shame in using therapy and medication to help cope with mental illness. I have used both in the past, and I still use medication to help with my symptoms. However, God is waiting for those who are struggling to reach out to Him for help. He can heal and mend a broken heart and a broken mind. His love and mercy are endless, and He understands a person’s struggles better than anybody else ever can.
I never use an outline; I rarely know what I am going to write until I sit down and actually write. I do not have routines or regular writing time; I just write what I want to write and when I want to write it. I used to have to write long hand using pen and paper, and then transcribe it into my computer, which was a lengthy and tedious process. Recently I mastered the art of writing directly into the computer and eliminating the pen and paper, so now it all goes more quickly for me.
What was the most challenging aspect of writing the book?
I deal with chronic fatigue and low stamina almost every day, so that hampered my writing at times.
How did the book evolve from the initial idea to the finished manuscript?
It is easy to have an idea for a book, but it took determination and motivation to actually get it done. I prayed before every writing session, and wrote every time I felt inspired to do so.
What do you hope readers will gain from reading your book?
This is my favorite question. I hope readers will gain an understanding about how much love, mercy and forgiveness that God has for them, and that my book will give them a desire to build their own relationship with Him.
How have readers responded to your book so far?
I have been blessed with an outpouring of love, support and encouragement.
Can you share how your interest in writing developed? Did you always know you wanted to write or was it something that evolved with time?
I have been writing since I was able to pick up a pen. I believe I wrote my first story at age four. It was a brief story that I wrote for my Grandfather and it was called “The Pumpkin That Saved Halloween.”
Are they any authors who have influenced your writing style?
I read a wide variety of both Christian and secular authors, and they have all influenced my writing style in some way.
In ten years, where would you like your writing career to be?
I promised God that if He would bless me with publication, I would continue to write books that would honor Him until I get to such an age where I physically cannot write any longer.
How do you feel about the increasing popularity of ebooks?
E books are fine for some people, but I prefer reading a regular printed book.
What do you have in mind for your next writing project?
My next writing project is already finished! It is the sequel to “Redemption Through Forgiveness” and I believe my publisher plans to release it in early 2020.
More Information
Buy the book on the publisher's website.
Check out the author's website.
