Shifting Sands

M. Todd Henderson, a former advertising and marketing executive has published a book that echoes many painful truths in his own life.

Entitled Shifting Sands: His Hell. Her Prison, the book is the story of the tumultuous life of a mentally ill husband and father, Scott Walters, who struggles to find hope in the face of crushing despair. The author is quick to note that the book is fiction, yet portions are based on his painful real-life experiences and observations.

It was June 2003 when I was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder which, no doubt, had gone undiagnosed for my entire life, Henderson says. My childhood, 20s, 30s, and 40s were sprinkled with bipolar symptoms, including extreme anxiety attacks My symptoms also included severe depressionextended periods of time inside a six-foot cube with no stimulus. No light sneaking in through my lids. No sound other than shallow, rushed breaths. No breeze touching my face. Alone.

In Shifting Sands: His Hell. Her Prison, the protagonist believes he is receiving counsel from a dead girl who claims to be his guardian angel. He fights alcohol addiction and seeks dramatic medical alternatives in a desperate attempt to bring some normalcy to his life with his wife and two sons.

During over two years of researching and writing Shifting Sands: His Hell. Her Prison, I learned how profoundly mental health disorders effect not only the mentally ill, but, just as dramatically, their loved ones, Henderson says. Its my genuine hope that Shifting Sands reaches out and bonds with this besieged minority with a message of understanding, enlightenment, and hope.

According to Henderson, the main characters story of hope and despair continues in his short story collection.