In this episode of the Speak Out Loud podcast. Stacee and Doug share a vulnerable and powerful conversation with Bret and Anne about their family's journey of navigating a schizophrenia diagnosis for their young adult child.

Bret and Anne share a wealth of experience, compassion and hope for families who may be on a similar mental illness journey with a loved one or friend.

Bret and Anne share honestly about the lengthy process of coming to a clear diagnosis for their son through several years of struggle, signs and symptoms to look for, the challenge of developing a community of compassionate awareness and support, and their journey to their son's improved mental health.

While there is currently no cure for schizophrenia, throughout this conversation you'll hear and be inspired by the hope Bret and Anne and their family have for both the present and the future!

For families walking through a similar journey of schizophrenia or a unique mental illness journey of their own, this episode will encourage you, provide helpful insights and wisdom, and most of all share the gift of hope. Whatever you are facing, better and brighter days can be ahead!

Born of our Stacee's lengthy mental illness struggle, Speak Out Loud's mission is to share hope and encouragement for those who struggle with mental health and for those who love and support them.

Learn more about Speak Out Loud and the resources offered by Stacee and her husband, Doug, at speakoutloud.me.

You can follow Speak Out Loud on Instagram @speakoutloud.me. You can also find free devotional resources offered by Speak Out Loud on the YouVersion Bible app by searching for the Speak Out Loud page.

Stacee's two books, The Boat That Wouldn't Sink and You Are Worth Saving, Letters of Hope from a Desperate Heart are both available on Amazon.

To learn more about inviting Stacee and/or Doug to speak to your group, please connect with us through Speaking tab on the Speak Out Loud website.

Thank you for joining us for this episode and for helping build a community of hope for those who struggle with mental health - let's experience hope together!

On September 3, 2024 Rick Thompson suffered a massive stroke while traveling in Costa Rica. At his wife's urging, a 6 hour cab ride to the nearest hospital saved his life.

Following his stroke, Rick woke up the next morning blind and unable to move the left side of his body. The weeks and months ahead began an incredible journey of ongoing rehabilitation, returning to his role as senior Pastor of Council Road Baptist Church in metro Oklahoma City, and writing about this journey through his new book, Count if Joy: Lessons in Suffering.

Stacee and Doug share this conversation with their long-time pastor of how finding joy even through crisis, tremendous life change, and suffering is possible.

You can find Count it Joy and other books and resources from Rick at pastorrickthompson.com. Count it Joy can also be found in kindle format on Amazon at https://a.co/d/3aLIn4o

and also as an audio book on Audible.

The mission of Speak Out Loud is to share hope and encouragement for those struggling with mental health and for those who love and support them.

Learn more about Stacee and Doug and their family's mental illness journey and also access the library of resources offered by Speak Out Loud at www.speakoutloud.me.

We are so pleased to share this episode as Stacee interviews friend of Speak Out Loud, Brittany Tinsley, to talk about her new book coming out this fall - Stories Our Scars Tell: Hope, Healing, and Honesty about the Wounds We Carry.Stacee and Brittany share an honest an vulnerable conversation about their shared experience of struggling with self-harm and how they have found hope and live day to day in recovery. As Brittany shares, "to be healed is simply to live a life fully felt - not perfect and not pain-free, but beautiful anyway." Stacee and Brittany know the pain and struggle of self-harm and their conversation is an honest, transparent and hopeful resource of hope for others who struggle and for those who care for those struggling with self-harm.Brittany is a writer and speaker who shares her story of self-injury to offer hope to others. In addition to her new book, Brittany recently co-authored a chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury. Her work has also been featured by a variety of non-profits and publications, including Huffpost, To Write Love on Her Arms, and Fathom Magazine. You can pre-order Stories Our Scars Tell on Amazon at https://a.co/d/dzfeuwJLearn more about Brittany and subscribe to her Substack site, Braver on Paper, at https://www.brittanytinsley.com/ You can follow Brittany on Instagram at @brittanytinsleywrites.Learn more about Speak Out Loud and Stacee's mission to share hope for those who struggle with mental health at www.speakoutloud.me.You can follow Stacee and Speak Out Loud on social media @speakoutloud.me