Story Criteria

1. Persons now have peace of mind and spirit of gratitude and want to share their stories of healing and hope.
2. Contribute to society through work, volunteer work, going to school, raising their family, belonging to social organizations, etc.
3. Continue to learn more about their illness and life in general through classes, reading etc.
4. Have a diagnosis of a severe mental illness such as OCD, bipolar, schizophrenia, schizo-effective, anxiety, depression, PTSD, etc.

• We are looking to publish two stories from each state and two from the District of Columbia.  California would have four stories due to its size; two from northern California and two from southern California.
• Depending on the number of stories we receive from each state, not every story will be published in the book, but all positive stories will be presented on the Hope To Healing website.
• A name and a photo would be required to accompany the story to show real people who have walked the path of illness and are doing well.
• Stories will be limited in length to two pages.  Pictures related to the story can be included, but the pictures must fit within the two page limit.  We would have the right to crop or resize the pictures to fit the available space.
• We would be allowed to edit the story and of course the story writer would approve the final draft.  We would only publish what the writer agrees to.
• The writer would have to sign publication consent forms regarding the stories and pictures submitted.  (Consent forms will be mailed later to the authors whose stories will appear in the book.  Consent forms are not needed for the stories posted on the HopeToHealing website.)
  
• The writer may be asked to share his/her story with groups if the writer so desires.
• We currently have no publishing date.