Description
Some 218,000 men and women with severe psychiatric disorders are
incarcerated in an American prison or county jail. Most committed
violent crimes -- sometimes murder -- while propelled by a crazed
mind untreated with medications and therapeutic care. Cherry
Blossoms & Barren Plains: A woman's journey from mental illness
to a prison cell, is such a story. My work explores the life of
Rebecca Bivens, who beat her five-year-old stepdaughter to death.
In 1998, a jury found Rebecca guilty but mentally ill, and
sentenced her to life in prison.
Together, Rebecca and I began a story that became larger than
her own. It grew into a narrative of Rebecca's mental illness with
all of its ramifications: from the lack of society's understanding
of a disease that plagues millions of people each day, to the
strain on our national budget; and the residual effects on family
and friends ill equipped to handle the demands of someone who
suffers from a severe mental illness.
About the Author
Larry L. Franklin is 66 years old and resides in Makanda,
Illinois. Franklin holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Music,
and performed in the U.S. Navy Band, located in Washington, D. C.,
from 1976 to 1971. From 1972 through 1975, Larry taught music at
Southern Illinois University. In 1976, he completed requirements
for a Certified Financial Planner designation and maintained a
successful investment business until 2007, when he retired to
devote his energies to writing. In 2003, Larry received an MFA in
Creative Non-Fiction from Goucher College in Baltimore,
Maryland.
Each professional pursuit left Franklin with an unsatisfying
emptiness that pushed him into marathon running, where he pounded
the country roads longing for an answer just around the bend. Then,
in 1998, and without warning, repressed memories broke through his
subconscious mind like a runaway train, and left him afraid to
leave his home. He was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) with dissociative features. What followed were
years of psychotherapy where he explored a physically and sexually
abusive childhood. Now his problems have been reduced to a
persistent mild depression which is controlled by medication and
talk therapy. The therapeutic process unleashed his creative side,
a new-found ability to write, and an unquenchable curiosity about
the human mind. Larry now devotes his time writing about the
mentally ill and victims of injustice who yearn for a voice to tell
their story.
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