How the patient can see it. For some, this can be a positive experience. In this excerpt from "The Ecology of a Cracker Childhood," Ray's father writes to her when she asks him to talk about his experience as someone dealing with his own mental illness. “Mental illness, or nervous breakdown as some call it, is nothing to fear, or to put it in better perspective, there is nothing to fear. In a way, it's like death. Natural death occurs in stages: the first stage prepares you for the second stage and so on until you enter a coma. Most of the time, people with mental disorders don't know it. Sometimes their friends can't detect it. Close family members can, as can people trained in the field. Thirty years ago I had what people call a mental illness. I call it one of the greatest experiences of my life. I wouldn't erase him from my past even if I could. I would sell it for a million dollars. Its value to me cannot be measured. I can only assume that God allowed this to happen and has been with me through it all - one Church member said that mental illness is from the devil, which I am not with. disagree. It taught me: 1) a greater love for people. 2) greater love for the earth, the trees, the hills, the valley, the streams, the soil, the animals. 3) the future is everything. 4) the woman is me. 5) love my family. 6) the true value of my mental health, my health, my well-being. 7) respect our creator. I won't list the downsides because everyone knows what it would be like to be called crazy. I have nothing but praise for the state of the Georgia psychiatric facility. From what I saw, top to bottom, it was good. In closing, I would like to remind you of what our Creator has said on several occasions. Do not be afraid” (Ray 79). For other patients, this can be an extreme moment...... middle of paper ......Cable News Network, March 6, 2014. Web. April 28, 2014. .Brooks, Rebecca . “The Salem Witch Trials.” History of Massachusetts. Np, August 18, 2011. Web. April 25, 2014. .Cohen, Tom and Phil Gast. “Wild car chase ends with suspect shot near US Capitol.” CNN Politics. CNN, October 3, 2013. Web. April 25, 2014. .Faulkner, William. As I was dying. 1st. New York: Vintage International, 1990. Print. “Matthew 8 KJV.” Matthew 8 KJV. Np, and Web. April 27, 2014. Ray, Janisse. Ecology of a cracker childhood. Éditions Milkweed, 1999. Print. Woodrell, Daniel. Winter's Bone. New York: Back Bay Books, 2006. Print.