Leah Peterson is a very busy woman with lots of irons in the fire.
She's a mom, a wife, a writer, a blogger, a photographer, a crafter and an artist. She and her husband Joe have just sold all their material stuff (except prize possessions) and are about to head off on a six month road trip across the United States and Canada. In addition, Leah is a consultant on The United States of Tara, the Showtime original series (produced by Diablo Cody and Stephen Spielberg).
The series stars Toni Colette as Tara, a wife and mother, struggling with dissociative identity disorder. DID (or multiple personality disorder) is a topic on which Leah is qualified as an expert. She lived her life with seven distinct alters (Leah, Claire, Sydney, Leah Too, Protector, Gate Keeper and Predator) up until 2002 when she worked with Dr. Steve Clancy to integrate the personalities.
In 2007 a few of her personalities re-emerged (as apparently integration doesn't always stick). Since that time Leah has written and talked about her struggles with mental illness and MPD widely, hoping to give voice and be support to others struggling with similar issues.
I had the great privilege to chat with Leah via instant messenger just prior to her taking off on the Reboot Tour adventure:
You've translated your struggles with mental illness into a slew of great, creative projects - out of all that you're working on - what's your "pet project?"
My favorite one tends to be whatever I'm doing at the moment. I love doing so many things that I sometimes get too many things going at once, but I love them all. But, if I had to pick a favorite for the moment, it would have to be our Reboot Tour. We launch tomorrow and will be visiting cities all across the country and Canada for the next six months or so.
So excited!
The trip looks very very exciting! Can you tell me about how the road trip came about and what the goals for the trip are?
My husband Joe and I were trying to figure out where we wanted to move when our lease was up. We couldn't think of anywhere we really wanted to live plus the thought of packing up all our shit yet AGAIN made me want to soak my head in toilet water.
We decided to sell and get rid of everything we own except what we considered our prize possessions. And then I started wondering what other people would consider their prized possessions. And, the idea to travel and interview people about it was born.
Where are you headed to first?
We stop in Prescott, AZ, then Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Dallas before hitting Virginia for Thanksgiving - woot!
How often will you and Joe be updating Reboot w/interviews? And, are there plans to translate this into a book?
Yes to the book. We'll be saving the best interviews and photos for the book but posting other updates and the stories people submit via the website while on the road. People are sending in some really great stories! People can even get us to sing and dance and write stories for them along the way if they want. There will be a gas money submit button, where people can donate via PayPal, for which we will do a little jig.
You have another season of the United States of Tara coming up, yes? Can you talk to me about how you became involved as a consultant on that project?
Yes! Season 2 will be airing in January or March, I'm not sure which. The story goes that my journals got in the hands of Diablo Cody after Steven Spielberg asked her to write a pilot based on a mother with MPD. When she emailed me, I thought she was a fake weirdo, because seriously, Diablo? That means the devil, yo. But she happens to be real and we got together and talked and talked and I answered a bunch of questions about questions about what it's like to be a mother and wife with MPD. Then Brooke (Cody) asked me to join the show as a consultant and I just died. Pow!
Do you feel that Tara's MPD is accurately portrayed in the series?
Toni is so great. She really nails what's it's like to switch from personality to personality. People that have MPD are as diverse as any other kind of people grouped together. So while it might be closer to one person's experience, it might not fit with what another person went through in their life. That caused so many issues for the MPD community initially. They do sensationalize some things. But, it's entertainment and kind of has to be that for people to want to watch. I just LOVE that the show has made people look at the mental health community and ask questions about things.
MPD is a pretty rare diagnosis, isn't it?
It used to be. Some doctors think that is because people weren't correctly diagnosed in years past. Other doctors think that is because it doesn't exist in the first place. And, other doctors, still, think it's because our brains are more prone to disease nowadays. It's not that rare anymore, but it isn't talked about. Mental health issues are always shuffled under the rug. It's not polite to talk about like money or farting. Having a supportive family or just ONE person being supportive makes all the difference.
So - was it with the idea of providing that supportive community when it was absent to individuals with mental illnesses that you began RealMental.org?
Totally. We have a really supportive community. Families sometimes have no idea how to help their loved one. And some families can't talk about it at all. We try to be a place where they can learn and also where people struggling can express the things that are working for them and the things that are hard.
So - I know that everyone at BitchBuzz will kill me if i don't ask this: What's working with Diablo Cody like?
Brooke is awesome. She is just as cool as you think she is - maybe even just a little bit cooler. She is easy to work with. Has a wicked sense of humor. Very giving and loving.
We're all big fangirls!
I'm a huge fan girl, too. She is really smart and nice and it sounds like I have a girl crush on her. Well, maybe I do.
Girl crushes are the best, nothing wrong with that!
The cast members are great, too. And the writers. They rock. Pretty much every iota touching the show in any way rocks.
So we hear that you're working on a follow up book to your journals? When will I'm Not Insane be coming out?
Well, I don't know. I just posted it on Kickstarter.com as a project. I need to raise the money to get it finished. I decided not to go with a mainstream publishing house so I'm going to self-publish.
Does the book pick up where your journals left off in your personal story?
I'm actually reworking the journals to be more complete and then adding on what happened after all the way up to starting on Tara. When I put the journals up, it was with the understanding that people knew they weren't perfect or even edited very well. Just the raw experiences. I'd like to make it a really good book now and proffesh it up.
If you could give one piece of advice to women who are facing the same challenges as you've faced - what would it be?
Trust your gut. If you have a mental illness, so many people will tell you that whatever you are feeling is just a factor of that. It's like being sad and a guy asking if you're on your period. So, trust your gut. And then, wait 3 days after making a decision before making any major changes in your life. Don't be afraid to change your mind.
Follow Leah's adventures on Twitter @leahpeah and check out all her projects via her website.
You can check more of Kate's fangirl ramblings on her website's blog.