Stay Alive by Min Deng, Ph.D.

 

Finally, we are talking about mental health, really digging into the good, the bad, and the ugly. Sharing our stories with each other is a great way to bring awareness and education and some healing. That's just what Min Deng, Ph.D is doing with her book Stay Alive. Read an excerpt and then follow the tour for even more. Best of luck entering the giveaway!

In her brave and compassionate non-fiction book "Stay Alive," Min Deng explores the depths of depression and the ominous specter of suicide. She sheds light on the hidden struggles experienced by those suffering from this silent illness by drawing on personal experiences shaped by childhood mental and emotional abuse.

These pages are filled with moving stories about people battling their own demons, struggling with thoughts of self-destruction, or dealing with the grief of a loved one's tragic death. Min Deng bravely breaks down the stigmas associated with mental health by exposing the invisible chains that bind.

This succinct yet potent book illuminates the complexities of depression with heartfelt honesty and unwavering empathy, urging readers to understand the silent battles fought behind seemingly unremarkable lives. It serves as a powerful reminder of compassion's transformative power and that saving lives and healing broken souls requires love, understanding, and empathy.

“Stay Alive” urges us all to work toward cultivating mental health rather than ignoring it. It teaches us that by illuminating the darkness, we can aid in dampening depression’s hold and giving those who are suffering hope.

Read an excerpt:

I decided it was time to exit the world in which I’d experienced so much suffering since birth. I hadn’t been wanted in the first place, and it was time for my existence to end.

In those three months, when I had any mental energy and my mind was cooperative enough for me to comprehend what I read, I searched for viable ways to kill myself. I stumbled upon a couple of websites where methods were listed with step-by-step details, and I learned there were many ways to end one’s life using simple household items. And it would take only a few minutes in many cases. I decided on my method and prepared the things required. I was only biding my time to choose the best timing.

My faith didn’t play any role in my planning of my suicide last year. Partly because my faith was greatly weakened due to the hypocrisy and hurt I experienced at church, partly because I couldn’t understand why God rendered me completely useless in the middle of my pursuit of an M.A. in Biblical Counseling. I prayed and prayed, without any answer. I didn’t understand God’s doing in all of it, and I didn’t know how to depend on God at the time.

What saved me last year was my love for my husband and my dog Coco.

I planned on executing my strategy in mid-May while he was on a one-week business trip. I didn’t want to leave Coco alone in the house with a dead body, and I didn’t want my husband to come home from his business trip finding my corpse in the house with a possibly dead dog due to dehydration and starvation. It would devastate him even further. He’s been very good to me in our twenty-year relationship. I didn’t have the heart to be that cruel to him. So, I decided to wait.

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About the author:

Dr. Min Deng was born and raised in Wuhan, China on September 11th, 1973. She earned a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2008.

As a developmental psychologist, she is interested in parenting, child development, parent-child relationship, marital relationship, domestic abuse, suicide prevention, gender and sexual identity, etc. This book on raising awareness about suicide and its risks is her first of a series on mental health she plans to write.

She is the founder and CEO of Mental Health CPR (MHCPR), a non-profit organization that serves to improve quality of life by increasing the accessibility to mental health resources. MHCPR does this through education, advocacy, and the creation of mental health resources available to all.

She lives with her husband and their beloved dog Coco in Charleston, South Carolina. In her spare time, she loves walking on the beach, learning to surf, hiking, traveling, listening to audio books, and fashion.

Min Deng will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway