Jen Perry is a kooky American who grew up in the redneck boonies of Southern Maryland. As a result of childhood trauma, she’s had depression from a young age and added on suicidal thoughts, PTSD and panic attacks to the mix over the year. Thanks to EMDR, hard work, and pomegranates, healing has taken place and she is well on her way to becoming a compassion expert. She recognized the need to create a safe space for those around her and wanted to put her own spin on the subject of mental health by writing about her own experience, injecting some humor to provide some levity in an otherwise dark subject. She just published her first book, Staring at Walls, in hopes her life lessons can help others give themselves compassion and enable them to be ok with their diagnosis of depression. She loves fresh air, the smell of pine and any activity that gets her outdoors with her husband, James, and her pitbull, Skye. And, of course, living a life that still has laughter and compassion and fun; embracing her depression instead of trying to run from or ignore it.