A Chat With the Author: Lulu Flatt

I’m excited to share Lulu’s interview with you. Lulu has become a good friend of mine. She’s so sweet and warmhearted! Lulu M Flatt (yes, she says, that’s her real name) has authored more than 25 Christian nonfiction books for the LORD, including testimonies, devotionals, poetry, and discipleship books. She is an accomplished writer, graphic designer, photographer, theologian, and Bible scholar. She has since combined all of her GOD-given talents to help others grow in their faith. Her latest book, which is soon to be published, is titled Mental Matters: From Mental Degeneration to Complete Restoration, A Resource and Testimony of the Goodness of GOD.

Now let’s meet Lulu!

What personal experience or research first led you to write this book?

Following many major traumas and losses, Mental Matters is a first-hand account of my descent into severe mental illness. How severe? At one terrible point in time, I found myself homeless and completely psychotic (living an alternate reality), but for GOD, I don’t know what would have become of me. He got me off the streets in a very unorthodox way, which I won’t go into here, suffice it to say though, that I was delivered. I was taken to a mental healthcare facility where I received all of the help I needed to recover. 

During that time of recovery, I attended many classes and read a lot of books on the subject of Mental Illness, and I absolutely knew, as a writer for the LORD, that I was chosen to write about my experience for the benefit of others.

Who do you hope will benefit from your message and how?

According to NAMI, the National Alliance of Mental Illness, there are “millions” of people suffering from some kind of debilitating mental health issues, and that’s in this country alone! It is my hope to reach out and help as many as of them as possible. In Mental Matters, I share step-by-step, my own healing strategies that brought me to a full recovery from multiple traumas, and the ensuing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Survivor Guilt, Clinical/Major Depression, General Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and Schizoaffective Disorder.

What was the most surprising thing you discovered while writing or researching your book?

My own determination to recover. Many others had the same opportunities I had: the classes, the books, the peer support, but didn’t take full, if any, advantage of them. I firmly believe that you get out of something exactly what you put into it, and recovery is no different. I desperately wanted to get well, and I was willing to do the work that would facilitate that goal. It should be noted here, that I still take medications to maintain my brain’s chemical balance, but I am otherwise utterly healed.

Writing Mental Matters was also exceedingly painful, but cathartic at the same time. Talking about my illnesses also freed me of them, and all of the stigma associated with them. The traumas are now all in long term memory, meaning they don’t just come to mind any more unless I actively try to recall them.

What’s one piece of advice you’d share with aspiring nonfiction writers who want to publish?

Read a lot, and write even more. Don’t try for a bestseller, just write about what you have learned or experienced. I write for myself first, then tweak it for others. Also 99.9% of writing is rewriting so don’t be afraid of the first draft or the tenth, just learn when to stop and turn it over to a proofreader and/or an editor.

Fun question: If your book were turned into a documentary, what would the theme song be?

“There can be miracles when you believe,” duet by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. It is the theme song to the animated movie, The Prince of Egypt.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Of course there is (wink). If you would like to grow in your Christian faith or if you would like to know more about it, I have just launched an email ministry of Biblical proportions to help you do that. It is called A Christian Journey.

A Christian Journey is FREE to join. Just go to my landing page (achristianjourney.net/joinus) to get your FREE ebook, A Guide to GOD. Then sign up to receive my newsletter called, An Encouraging Word, twice a month, and every other week an editor’s choice of either: a one-page devotional, a Scripturally inspired photograph, Pure Poetry from the Heart of a Christian Mystic, a related ebook for sale offer, Bible study materials, or perhaps a surprise loyalty gift! So tell all your family and friends and signup today!