While publishing a book was a long process for Ellen Whitehead, the final product was worth it for the Clarkston Community Schools employee.
The Davisburg resident spent 10 years doing research, family interviews and writing to produce the book, “Shell Song: Voices Deep Within – Stirrings of a Scattered Soul.”
“There is a lot of work involved. The fun part is writing it but then you have the marketing and trying to find a publisher,” Whitehead said. “It took 10 years because I work full time and also have four kids. In the spare time I write as a hobby.”
The book is a semi-biographical story of Whitehead’s grandmother, Lydia Schettling, who suffered from schizophrenia. Schettling was a German immigrant who arrived in the United States in 1912. Whitehead attempts to figure out what triggered her grandmother’s schizophrenia and to confront the stigma of mental illness head on.
“Mental illness took over the family and it has taken over a lot of families. People don’t want to talk about it but it needs to be brought out. Hopefully by talking it will make people understand more and become more acceptable,” Whitehead said. “I really set out to find the reasons behind mental illness.”
The story tells how Schettling struggled with the responsibilities and expectations of marriage and parenthood, along with the dreams of a career. The “shell voices” she heard in stressful times brought her both comfort and pain, and eventually resulted in Lydia being committed to an insane asylum during an era of abuse and neglect.
“She was hospitalized in the 1930s and those were the dark ages of treatment. It was an era of neglect and abuse,” Whitehead said.
Whitehead did a lot of research for the book and learned much about the history of mental illness. She visited Glore Psychiatric Museum which is located on the site where her grandmother was hospitalized in St. Joseph, Missouri.
After its completion, Whitehead spent some time trying to find a publisher. She eventually settled on DeForest Press from Minnesota.
Whitehead, who works as an administrative assistant for Clarkston Schools, said $1 from each book sale will be donated to the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression. The organization states that more than 19 million American adults ages 18 and over will suffer from a depressive illness each year. Also, more than 2.3 million Americans ages 18 and over suffer from manic-depressive illnesses.
“And yet nobody wants to talk about it,” Whitehead said.
Whitehead will have book signing events at Independence Township Library on Thursday, November 13 between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. and at Springfield Township Library Tuesday, November 18 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“It is kind of exciting to see your own book in print,” Whitehead said.
“Shell Song” is also available on Amazon.com and at www.DeforestPress.com.