Letter to the Oprah Show

I submitted this online in hopes of promoting my upcoming publication on her show.

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was almost 40. Diagnosis was like finding a key to open the door to personal understanding about past problems. However, labeling is not a fix.

My marriage lasted 50 weeks, and I found myself in the fast lane for years. Scars from IV drug use, and the effects of too much alcohol, were physical and emotional. Endometriosis has left me childless. My south Texas doctor’s insistence, before my diagnosis, that I was drug-seeking, lead to a hysterectomy I did not want when I was in my thirties.

I taught for 13 years in Texas school districts. I sponsored cheerleaders and student council, and loved teaching English and ESL until it almost killed me. I twice attempted suicide. Three of my students died tragic deaths, and I often wonder about how we affect people around us.

I also help my independent, frail, charming, and aggravating 83-year old mother who has congestive heart failure. Mrs. Headrick and I take turns taking care of each other, residing in homes about seven miles apart.

My physical health is good, since losing the 57 pounds I put on with Lithium. I have pride that I do the best I can, and feel that being bipolar is not a curse, but an opportunity to develop into a special person. We are gifted and talented in a way that society does not necessarily admire, or nurture as in the days of Socrates.

I taught myself computer skills in 2000, and will be publishing my first novel this October. Colouring Outside the Lines, an anthology of poems, editorials, essays, with pictures, is intended to be read and coloured by the book owner. It is a philosophical work, a precursor for “thinking outside the box.” I have chosen to self-publish with a company in India, because we are an interdependent world, and responsible people need to think worldly.

My writing portfolio is available at www.Patrice.Writing.com, and I am interested in sharing with Oprah. Please contact me at your convenience.

Sincerely, Patrice Lauren


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