Learning to Stay: How God Transformed My Pain into His Purpose

Helping Professionals, Patients, and Their Families Find Healing

Learning to Stay delivers a powerful and redemptive account of Michelle O'Neil's journey-from a teenager engulfed by mental illness and a life-threatening eating disorder to a licensed mental health professional who offers hope and healing to others.

O'Neil's story offers both inspiration for those struggling and a crucial wake-up call for mental health professionals by:

• Confronting the mental health system's failures and advocating for trauma-informed care
• Transforming pain into purpose through faith-based healing and professional calling
• Exposing how well-intentioned but harmful treatment practices retraumatize vulnerable patients
• Empowering readers with practical insights for their own recovery journeys

With unflinching honesty and unwavering hope, O'Neil reveals how deep wounds can forge unexpected strength-and how healing is not only possible, but transformative.

Michelle O'Neil is a nurse, counselor, and author in Colorado. Drawing from her own mental health journey, she offers hope through writing and counseling. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and the outdoors.