Publications
“Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.”
— Natalie Goldberg
a 100-day devotional for those battling anxiety, depression, addiction, and other mental illness
New Release
Mental illness is real, and it’s not a sign of weak faith—it’s a medical condition that deserves understanding, care, and compassion. You can pray, go to therapy, love Jesus, and take medication. You are not broken, and you are not alone.
A Sound Mind is a 100+ day devotional created to support anyone navigating mental health challenges—including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, and more. Filled with scripture, prayers, and practical guidance, this devotional is designed to help you feel seen, supported, and connected to God’s unwavering love.
“A powerful and inspirational book. Full of stories, anecdotes, and wisdom that helps readers to build bridges for the healing of the soul. You will not just be blessed but transformed by these daily devotions.”
- Olden Thornton, Pastor of Raleigh International Church
“Author MD Marcus has shown incredible courage, compassion, personal transparency, and Biblical insights in bringing out of the shadows a reality that is either ignored or denied in much of the Christian Church community in America.
Mental illness is very real in our nation in the same way that physical illness is a reality in every family. The stigma of mental illness has been that Christians should somehow be above those kinds of struggles. Until very recently in history, those following Christ have simply been encouraged to pray for these mental illnesses to go away. If any community in the nation should offer love, encouragement, and understanding it should be the Body of Christ, His Church. I am grateful to the author for providing a tool that balances inspiration, insight, and Scripture to address this crucial topic.
The time has clearly come for pastors and church congregations to spend time learning and preparing to assist those battling with mental health issues and be aware of what resources are available in your community so that you can connect a person in need of such services. Let’s shine a light into the shadows that genuine healing will come. The first step might be putting a copy of A Sound Mind in the hand of each member of your church.”
- Dr. James Seymour, Executive Director of People Care International
The Superior Act of Presenting Your Teeth to Strangers
In this gripping memoir, we walk alongside MD Marcus as she follows orders, stands in line, and bides her time during a couple stints at a mental health facility. In the halls, she witnesses what it is that those who are deemed "crazy" or "unsafe to themselves or others" are subjected to undertake: group therapy, announcing ridiculous delusions-lying to make it seem like they are ready to go home. Unable to get her shoelaces back until she asks, MD Marcus then lets us into her mind's deepest, darkest secrets. A place that may be too real and honest for some readers to stomach, especially when her mental state becomes most challenged by her sister's cancer diagnosis. But in the truth lies healing, and in healing lies a way forward. By the end, we are ready to travel home with her, at long last, and continue forth, anew and enlightened.
Available from:
“This memoir is a brilliant balancing act of storytelling. Not only does it balance time, it balances prose and poetics, openness and control, and the reciprocal relationship between writer and reader. The writing moves with an honest intentionality. It is not a giving over of a narrative. It is a welcoming into a space we get to be exposed to but that is still undoubtedly the writer’s. We are grateful for the invitation and thankful for what we gain from the experience. We leave excitedly waiting to be invited back again sometime soon.”
–Dasan Ahanu, author of Freedom Papers, Everything Worth Fighting For: an exploration of being Black in America, and Shackled Freedom
“It takes courage to face our own deepest wounds, to look pain and loss right in the eye and refuse to blink. Perhaps more courage than most of us ever muster. And yet, in her debut book, MD Marcus does exactly this. In what proves to be as much a poignant, poetry-laced memoir as it is a permission slip for the rest of us to disbelieve our worst circumstances are the last word, Marcus is never glossing—and never without hope.”
–Steve Daugherty,
author Experiments in Honesty
“MD Marcus’ unflinching memoir bravely examines the intersection between depression, single parenthood, anxiety and grief, culminating in a beautiful story of loss, and love.”
–Cinthia Ritchie, author of Malnourished: A Memoir of Sisterhood and Hunger and Dolls Behaving Badly
“I spent all day working on my poems. In the morning I put a comma in; in the evening I took it away again.”— Oscar Wilde
Rat's Ass Review
Femmewise Cat, p. 65-66
dis∙or∙der Mental Illness and its Affect (influence), Red Dashboard Publishing p. 38
Motherhood May Cause Drowsiness, Monkey Star Press p. 189
Rat's Ass Review
The Syzygy Poetry Journal
Femmewise Cat p. 65
Calliope p. 7
there is water beyond the trees
Simply Elevate Magazine p. 4
Undertow Poetry Review
Spillwords Press
Young Ravens Literary Review p. 3
Tomorrow we resume the practice
The Literary Nest
Ariel Chart
Ariel Chart
The Drabble
Eunoia Review
Sensible Shoes
or
I am Not a Real Poet
Hidden Constellation
“Writing means sharing. It's part of the human condition to want to share things - thoughts, ideas, opinions.”
— Paulo Coelho
One mistake (not mine), and I'm inside a nightmare. Three kids, no house and too many nights on borrowed mattresses
The holidays can be a challenging time for a variety of reasons, but merriment can be found if you keep looking.
