Decorah author asks "Why are so many people struggling mentally in our society?"

In the spring of 2010, Decorah author Tabita Green's daughter, Rebecka, started to feel depressed and wound up under psychiatric care.

Some 65 people on Tuesday night jammed into Java John's in Decorah to hear Green tell the story of her family's journey of surviving a year of modern psychiatry.

But Green emphasized that her book is more than just a personal story, it  describes what she learned during that time about psychiatry in the U.S. and the ever-widening culture of medication as a first, rather than last, resort.

Green wonders why so many people are struggling mentally and emotionally in the first place.  Can we redesign our society for optimal mental health?  What would such a society look like?

She hopes that by telling her family's story, others will be helped.  Concluded Green, "Talking about mental health is a good thing."