In the early 1980s, Mary Almquist reported news and feature stories for four weekly newspapers in southeastern Iowa. Known by some friends as “Mary Sunshine,” she shared her positive thinking, cheerful disposition, and bits of wit and wisdom with readers through her humor column, “SunnySide Up.” But by 1984, she was struggling to find the sunshine. The beauty of life that she had always cherished seemed to have disappeared, and she found herself on a lonely, painful journey with major depressive disorder-a condition she would continue to struggle with in recurrent episodes for more than forty years. By telling her story, Mary seeks to help others experience hope, whether they’re facing their own or a loved one’s major depression.

In I Am Sunny; I Am Blue: My Christian Journey with Depressive Illness, she uses poetry, prose, biblical quotations, and excerpts from her personal letters, journals, and essays to allow the reader to walk closely with her as she strives to find acceptance, hope, and healing.