Glenn Close is my hero

I know, the star of Fatal Attraction is an unlikely subject for my adulation. But are you paying attention to what she's been up to in the recent past? She's become quite the advocate for the mentally ill. Check her out in this incredibly touching stigma-fighting PSA on mental illness (directed by Ron Howard).




Obviously (if you've watched the video), her sister Jess suffers from bipolar disease, and that has inspired Close to "dig deep," to be more than just a celebrity endorser of a cause, but someone who really gets involved. She volunteers at Fountainhouse, a clubhouse for the mentally ill in New York City. She was part of NAMIWalks in her home state of Maine. And for all that, tonight's NBC News singled her out as one of five people this week who are making a difference.

I say the following as someone who is also making a difference, as someone who is also the sister of someone with a severe mental illness, as someone who is an advocate for the mentally ill, and as someone who I know inspires others (because they've told me I do). To see folks like Glenn Close and her sister Jess stand up and "out" themselves as folks affected by mental illness makes it that much easier for me to do the same. To see Glenn Close get on national television and talk about her love for her sister, about the fact that her sister is her hero, makes me feel a little less strange for my own sense that Paul, despite evidence to the contrary, is an incredible success.

Thanks to Glenn Close for her advocacy and to the folks at NBC for paying attention to those making a difference for the mentally ill. And just in case anyone reads this who has Glenn Close's ear, or the ear of anyone else who would like to help, we're trying to build a clubhouse for the mentally ill (like Fountainhouse) here in Providence, RI. Check out just a bit about us at Harbor House.