FINDING US by Kristin Rohman Rehkamp

UNITED STATES, March 13, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Kristin was terrified she was going to lose her daughter. Her 11-year-old daughter could not breathe, her chest hurt, and she was experiencing loss of sensation in limbs, dizziness, and disorientation…all rolling up to a state of terror she had never before witnessed. It was September 16, 2020 and her family’s life changed, suddenly and without warning, with her young daughter’s onset of an acute anxiety and panic disorder.

Living with a mental illness is a journey that is messy, complicated, and often misunderstood. An experience, however (despite our best efforts), we cannot control, but instead bravely learn to live with, learn from, and feasibly teach others around us along the way. In her new memoir, Finding Us, Kristin Rohman Rehkamp shares her story to bring visibility to what living with a child braving a mental illness looks like and feels like. Her hope is that her memoir normalizes the mental health conversation, while providing others comfort and support in knowing their unique challenges and journey are understood. She invites parents, educators, healthcare providers and community leaders into the fold of her family’s experience to educate, reduce stigmas, and decrease unknowns that might form the wrong assumptions and even create apprehension and fear.

With more than two years into their journey (a book, advocacy work and nearly 100 blogs), Kristin also encourages us to focus on eliminating the causes of the rising youth mental health crisis, rather than addressing it only after it develops. In a society that has been collectively trying to de-stigmatize mental illness and queue up more services, this stunning memoir is sure to help readers realize that the proactive (versus reactive) solution lies in each and every one of us. It is time to change the paradigm.

“We need to meet our youth where they are at and empower them. Our children are beautiful, brave and bold, but lost in a culture and in systems that can longer effectively nourish and support them. They are drowning in our culture’s political divisiveness, social unrest, continued fears of a pandemic, pressures created by social media and general lack of kindness, patience and empathy,” says Rehkamp. “Together, we are stronger. We need to be the force of change that is so desperately needed for all our children and adolescents that brave a mental illness.”

“Finding Us by Kristin Rohman Rehkamp is an inspiring, empowering, and eye-opening memoir.” –Literary Titan

“Author Kristin Rohman Rehkamp has penned a deeply personal memoir that will take readers through a full spectrum of emotions as they come to better understand what it means to live with a family member diagnosed with a mental illness.” –Feathered Quill

"Kristin gives a memoir that is personal and passionate; it is contemporaneous, insightful and wise. “Finding Us" is unerringly truthful to the experience for those who have never had mental illness in the family, and those who HAVE will recognize their own stories within it." -Dan Parnell, NAMI Affiliate Leader

“Kristin, Anna and the entire Rehkamp family, thank you. Thank you for your vulnerability and courage to stand in the gap and share your story. You are a bright light of hope shining in the darkness for so many.” —Lynn M. Moore MA, LADC, EAP Founder, President - Acres for Life Therapy & Wellness

“Finding Us is a book everyone will want to read. The why, when, and how to be the village for those braving mental illness. It is raw and honest. It includes tears, dreams, survival, hope, and a great deal of love.” —Molly Fields, MN LPN Assoc. Board Director

Finding Us is available for purchase from Atmosphere Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, La Vie Est Belle (lavieestbelle.live), and other online retailers.

About the author:

Kristin Rohman Rehkamp is a local author living with her husband and three children in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. She currently owns and operates La Vie Est Belle, LLC (lavieestbelle.live), a brand that inspires giving and beautiful living. Given her personal experience with her oldest daughter, she is passionate about serving communities, organizations, and individuals working to break down barriers, raise awareness and make a difference in the lives of those braving mental illness.

Kristin proudly serves in various St. Croix Valley, Minnesota community leadership roles and programs. As Kristin advocates for her daughter through writing and speaking engagements, she looks forward to evolving mental health/well-being thinking and care models for those that journey with her family.

Kristin Rohman Rehkamp
Kristin Rohman Rehkamp, Author
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