Contact

If you’re a reviewer and would like to receive a review copy of An Agoraphobic’s Guide to Hollywood – How Michael Jackson Got Me Out of the House, please email frontdoorbooks04ATGmailDOTCOM (email address spelled out to prevent spam).

Interviews and Q & A are also  available upon request by contacting Front Door Books.

72 thoughts on “Contact”

    • Hi Darlene. You wouldn’t believe our weather! I don’t. At the moment it is actually COLD, as well as wet and blowing a howling gale. And worse is forecast for the weekend. Yet a few days ago we had the hottest temperatures we’ve had in June for years. I think the weather is having a nervous breakdown. Which is why I am enjoying cyberspace so much. Apart from the technicalities, it is great fun meeting all you great writers. All the best for now, William.

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  5. Hi Darlene,
    Thanks for stopping by my blog. I run a chapter every week from one of my unpublished books. Currently running a memoir on traveling Europe with my husband while he consulted, back at the Millennium. My published novel, Her Mother’s Heart was born on that trip. http://www.maryotravers.wordpress.com http://maryotravers.tateauthor.com
    I have a few friends in Hollywood. Bob Hayes, of Airplane fame, commented on my book. Super nice guy! I will check out your blog often.
    Mary

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  6. Hi Darlene,

    Thanks for your kind words. Let me know what you think of Executive Severance. A sequel, working title “The Golden Parachute”, is in the works. I just have to decide if I want to compose it on Twitter or through other channels.

    Best,
    Bob Blechman

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  7. Hi Darlene,

    I saw your posts over by Books and Writers Group at LinkedIn. I like your site and I just read some of your writing :-)

    When you have some time you can check out my poetry and writing blog:
    charmainelizabeth.blogspot.com

    Thanks
    Elizabeth

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  9. Hi Darlene,
    I posted two pictures of you with your pantents on Zaks facebook page. Did you see them? I am the daughter of Charles Prescott who is the grandson to Marquesa Gonzales. (Maria’s sister)

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    • So happy to meet you! The only photos I saw on Zak’s FB were of Tia Marquesa, and E.J. and Jenny Craviotto (my grandparents). I didn’t see any photos of my parents. Tia Marquesa was my great-great aunt, and that photo of her looks like my grandfather in drag!!! Her face is exactly his face and that means he must have favored the looks of the Gonzales/Garcia side of the family. Genealogy is fascinating, isn’t it?

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      • I am having a blast exploring my roots! I will post the pics of you as a baby with your parents! Looking at my parents photo albums trying to identify everyone and once and for all LABEL! What a concept! Hahaha

  11. Hi Darlene,

    I thoroughly enjoyed your book and can relate quite a bit with having the challenges of agrophobia too.
    I think many people would be surprised if they knew that about me as I have done many things such as travelling overseas (From Australia to the US) and yet get overwhelmed in busy shopping centres. I do get myself out and about on my own but when things are difficult my husband is my safety person too:)
    I have lately been focusing on writing, in particular children’s books and have a publisher interested in one – yay:) I have also got an idea for a movie (but you’ve never heard that from anyone! LOL). I would appreciate any suggestions you have for this process.

    Thanks,
    Farah

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    • Hi Farah! Thanks so much for reading my book, and also for coming here and commenting on my website. It sounds as though we share the challenges of agoraphobia, and I totally understand how you could do some traveling and still struggle at times. Yes, it does help to have a support person, and through the years I’ve worked hard at building up my trust in a few close friends too. I can look back at specific times in my life where I’ve had to work at venturing out of the house, and along the way I’ve learned different ways to help myself feel safer in the world. Certainly, the job with Michael was an important first step, but there were other times, and other important steps I also took that really helped me a lot. I may write a couple of blog posts about that over the next few months. I encourage you to come back and add your voice to the conversation too!

      Congrats on having a publisher interested in your work! The best (and fastest) way for anyone to get a movie made is to write a book that Hollywood wants. They are always looking for ideas, and books that generate readers also generate audiences. I always encourage writers to write their stories and get them out there to be read. Screenplays are fun to write, but unless you have an agent peddling your scripts, it’s super difficult to get them read by the people who make the films.

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  12. Thankyou for your feedback Darlene and I will take it all on board. Will definately comment on further conversations you have regarding agoraphobia. I think it’s one of those things that can happen very quickly so the faster someone deals with it the less ingrained it becomes.
    I also think that strong motivation (eg. travel, doing something for my kids) gets me out of my comfort zone. It is different for each person of course.
    Thanks again:)

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    • “I also think that strong motivation (eg. travel, doing something for my kids) gets me out of my comfort zone.”

      Yes, I agree with what you’ve written. Kids can definitely get you out of your comfort zone!

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  13. Hi Darlene,
    I linked your webpage and video about CHS on the Official CHS Facebook Page. Let me know if you’d like to have a blurb or something put on the page (www.facebook.com/chsphilly).

    -Scott facebook.com/scotty269

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  14. Hi Darlene,
    You have one of the best blogs I’ve seen, perhaps one day mine will be so interesting although I don’t have the contacts to throw the names around.
    thanks for looking at my blog, and the comment.
    regards
    Harry Dodgson

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    • Gee, thanks for the compliment…I think. Seems to me I don’t have that many names to really throw around. Plus, throwing a few names and a couple of dollars will barely buy you a Latte at Starbucks. ;)

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  16. Darlene, So glad I found out about you this morning. I’m signed up for Jen’s drawing but will get your book whether I win it or not! I recovered from agoraphobia (slowly, over a decade) back in the 1970′s and 1980′s and I am not a psychotherapist in private practice helping others (with a myriad of issues). I love being connected with others who have endured this horrible illness. Nice to “meet” you!

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    • The feeling is mutual, Linda. Your blog is beautifully written and so powerfully emotional. I couldn’t pull myself away from what you’ve written. It is so nice to meet you, and I am now a regular follower of your blog. Please come back and say hello any time you’re in the “neighborhood.”

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  19. Hi Darlene. I bought your book tonight to download to my iPad immediately after getting the news that I did not win a copy on Jen’s Thoughts. There were several times I almost bought one before finding out. LOL. But…coincidentally, my friend of almost thirty years, Dixie Diamante, did win one! (Thanks Dix, I think that was my copy). Anyway, I started the book tonight and am already on Chapter 6. I love this book! I just put it down and on my way to the bathroom I thought, “talk about six degrees of separation!” You would have to know me to know I am not really serious, but here’s the thing. You and I were probably both hiding out in our homes at the same time, me in Los Angeles as well. Also, I ended up working for Superior Court in Santa Maria (the courthouse Michael would later have to face in that horrible trial he went through), and my husband, who was a sales manager for janitorial supplies back in the late 1980′s and early 90′s, used to deliver janitorial supplies to Neverland. I know…a degrees of separation. Ha. Anyway, your depiction of agoraphobia is so familiar to me. I was just starting to do better at the driving thing when I moved to Montana to live in 1994. Do you think I am going to get in my car and drive alone for an hour and forty-five minutes through the middle of nowhere to get to the next town? I think not. Now, when I visit my sister in Los Angeles and we are on the freeway I am literally petrified. You know what I mean. Anyway, long comment but wanted to tell you how much I am loving your book and have already posted it on my Facebook page. I’ll be talking it up. God bless, Darlene.

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    • I’m thrilled you’re enjoying the book. And yes, when I was reading your blog I saw that we were in Los Angeles during the same period of time, and you’re right – we were probably “hiding out in our homes at the same time.” I hope you are doing much, much better now. I sense that you are and again that is something we both have in common. It feels good to be getting out again, doesn’t it? Thanks so much for reading the book, and for saying hi.

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  20. Hi Darlene…yes…I am doing much, much better. I begin to have an anxiety attack once every so often…so far apart I can never remember the last one. There are a few coping strategies I still use, and I don’t drive out in the middle of nowhere…but I travel alone, enjoy flying, etc. Right now I am trying to hurry up and get through a training on CBT via CD’s (need the CEU’s) so I can hurry back to your book. ;o).

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  21. LOL…I’m so sorry. I actually thought about that after I typed them. CBT = Cognitive Behavior Therapy (I’m a therapist now…go figure) and CEU’s = Continuing Education Units. I need 20 of them a year to be relicensed. Have a wonderful weekend! Mine has been made better by you ;o).

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  22. Hey Darlene!
    Thanks for following my blog – http://www.hamptonstohollywood.blogspot.com. I just added a funny new post if you’d like to check it out :)
    I read the excerpt of your book and LOVED it. Ivan was great and reading about you trying to get in the gate was suspenseful and left me wanting more. It reminded me of what I’m going through now, trying to make it in Hollywood. Keep in touch! Any feedback would be great.

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  23. Hey Darlene!
    Thanks for following my blog – http://www.hamptonstohollywood.blogspot.com. I just wrote a new post if you’d like to check it out :)
    I read the excerpt of your book and LOVED it. Ivan was great and you trying to get in the gate was suspenseful and left me wanting more. It reminded me of my life now and trying to make it in Hollywood. Keep in touch! Any feedback is appreciated!

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  24. Hi Darlene, I was so delighted to receive my copy of “An Agrophobic’s Guide to Hollywood’ in the mail. Thank you so much. I have it safely tucked away for my Christmas reading pleasure, but the truth is I’m finding it very hard to not jump in right now and let my holiday preparations go by the wayside.

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  25. Hi Darlene…just wanted you to know I just finished An Agoraphobics Guide to Hollywood and was fascinated with the whole book…..we live close to Neverland and Jackson’s trial was in our city and there was so much speculation about who he really was….this offered much insight and loved the open and total honesty on your part in what you saw. I am also learning from your posts as I am a new author and just published my first book, “Climbing Out of the Box,” my journey out of sexual and spiritual abuse into freedom and healing… I also am a blogger….thanks for your inspirational work!!!

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  27. Dear Darlene,

    I’m an old alumni from San Marcus high school. I think I also went to La Colina junior high with you. This email is a bit of “throw a rock in a tree and perhaps I’ll knock down an apple” – – that is, would you read a film script I’ve written? I can send you a synopsis via email; I prefer to send the script itself in hardcopy because I would accompany it with some video and audio material that gives a better flavor of it. The subject of the script is quite unusual and something never attempted in Hollywood before (or anywhere else as far as I know), though the material is basically factual. Many friends and associates who’ve read it have urged me strongly to find a way to get it made. That has proved a tough nut, however.

    I had hoped to read your book as well as the play you wrote, Pizza Man; I thought I owed you that much before approaching you on this subject. However, life has been impossibly chaotic this last year, and all I’ve managed to do is watch the movie I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. I also read most of the articles on your blog. Please excuse the fact that I have not really entered your world sufficiently before I ask you to enter mine.

    As you have communicated in your blog, the script writing business does not suffer fools easily. Thus, if you do read my work, it goes without saying that I expect you to use your sharpest sword.

    Sincerely,

    Chris Boys

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    • Hi Chris,

      I think I remember you from La Colina, but my yearbooks are all packed up in the garage so I can’t tell for sure. What have you been up to all these years? Did you go into writing? Fill me in.

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      • Dear Darlene,

        Well, where to begin? After finishing high school I went to UCSB and graduated with a degree in physics and a minor in math. I never used either of them formally. Instead, my life became involved in spiritual pursuits, and I ended up spending six years in an ashram in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I worked as an auto mechanic, which was very grounding for me as I was quite a head case at the time.

        All through junior high, high school and the University I was really into surfing. Boy, did I love that sport. I even had a little shop and made my own boards. Did you spend much time at the beaches in Santa Barbara? I knew and surfed every nook and cranny of the coast from Oxnard to Jalama. Two gifts of my youth were the ocean and the education I received; I’m grateful for both.

        In 1989 I was still living in Santa Fe, no longer in the ashram, and I got involved in a harebrained scheme to manufacture the drug ecstasy. To make a long story short, the scheme was a flop and I was busted by the feds. As a result, I enjoyed a nine-year vacation, courtesy of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Because I’d never become a US citizen, I was deported to Canada after serving my sentence. Within a few months I moved to India and have been living here for the last 14 years. I live in a small city, Tiruvannamalai, in Tamil Nadu, South India.

        In prison I became quite good with a certain area of American criminal law and that’s how I make my living now. I also occasionally edit and proof books and articles for other writers. Tiruvannamalai is an international pilgrimage spot, so I meet Westerners from all over the world in different professions. A few years back, I decided to write a film script; I was assisted by screen script supervisor from South Africa and a professor of cinema from Belgium. That’s the script I would like you to take a look at. It actually came quickly to me; it was in an area of life I had studied extensively and lived personally.

        I’m working on another script now in an area of life that prima facie I have no familiarity with. I’ve had to study the subject formally, read books on the period etc. Did you have to do something similar with that script you wrote for Squanto? The interesting thing for me is that working on this latest script I found I could work in much of my life experience and understanding even though I had not lived the objective circumstances. Perhaps you know how that is also.

        Well, nuff said for now (especially since this is one of my first adventures with Dragon Naturally Speaking and it is a bit like walking on egg shells).

        Ciao, Christo

      • Well, no one can ever tell you that you’ve led an uneventful life. You’ve had enough experiences to fill several screenplays. Here’s the problem: I can’t help you. You need to get your work to a director, producer, or studio/cable television/or network executive. Those are the people who buy the screenplays. I’m just a plain, simple screenwriter (who wears saddle shoes, not expensive running shoes) and legally I can’t read someone’s spec script without opening myself up to a possible lawsuit. My lawyer has always advised me to say no when someone offers me their script to read. Sorry, but that includes ex-classmates also. Good luck with it though – I’m sure it’s a fascinating read.

  28. Dear Darlene,

    No problem; truth is stronger than fiction, as they say. Being an armchair lawyer myself (though in criminal, as distinguished from civil law), I can understand that caution is the better part of winging it. God willing, I will get back to you after I have read your book. I have been touched by your journey with such a difficult condition. I too have had a somewhat similar challenge. We shall see.

    You kinow, you are the only one of that whole crew from my high school years with whom I have made contact. Kind of cool.

    Ciao, Christo

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      • Dear Darlene,

        Good news about your mother (ultimately, that is). My mother is 90 and seemingly fresh as a daisy. She always laughs to me on the phone and says she still doesn’t have any short-term memory loss. For the last couple of years she’s been playing and studying bridge. Evidently, she’s become real good at it. She’s Canadian and comes from tough stock. She was a good athlete when she was younger, and I remember her playing tennis and golf to the time she was about 55. Her health is good except for her lungs, which are weak because she smoked until the age of 65.

        Hey, I had an interesting idea. What would you to say to exchanging a few of our recommendations about good movies? It might be a cool way to keep in touch. Just to give you an idea of my tastes, I consider Vertigo the greatest movie of all time. I even wrote a few essays on it and the seemingly endless depth and different points of view it can be understood from. Though I laughed when I watched an interview on YouTube where Hitchcock discussed it. Man, he had a pretty superficial and crude understanding of the masterpiece he had created. My favorite comedy is probably Dr. Strangelove, and I loved Groundhog Day. I consider Citizen Kane a vastly overrated clunker. I love the movies Bogart did with John Huston.

        As for foreign flicks, I liked Talk to Her by Almodovar, Cinema Paradiso, Sansho Dayo, Rififi, and The Garden of the Finzi Continis.

        As a starter, I watched a movie a couple months ago and specifically thought of you. It is The Silence of the Sea by Melville. I thought of you because it has the feeling of a stage play. It is a poignant, captivating work with a beautiful performance by the lead actor. Have you seen it? (I hope you haven’t, chortle, chortle).

        Don’t worry about any recommendation you make to me, because I can get it. Here in good old India we get to use Pirate Bay, and man, that thing is the greatest – just about everything’s available. Also, don’t worry if you make a recommendation and I have already seen it, I’ll just watch it again, no problem. I’m sort of a movie freak actually; I have a collection of about 6000 of them. People come through here from all over the world, and every season I add about 600 to my collection through trading, and every month I download about another 150. It’s a bit of an obsession, but I allow myself this one indulgence in life.

        Anyway, waiting for a good recommendation from your end of the world,

        CIAO , Christo

      • Film taste is so personal that I seldom make recommendations. When I was a kid I used to fall in love with movies, but now that I’ve worked in the industry I feel like Dorothy when she looked behind the curtain and learned that the all-powerful Oz was really an old little man. I know when a film works for me and when it doesn’t, but even that depends on the mood I’m in when I’m watching. I’m always up for a good drama but that’s not a genre that’s being done very much nowadays – at least at the studio level. You have to sort through independents to find good personal dramas now, and those can be hit and miss. Vertigo, I must say was never one of my favorite films. As much as I wanted to love it, I never could stay awake long enough to watch it to the end. I think it has something to do with Bernard Hermann’s score – there’s something hypnotic about it and it lulls me to sleep.

  29. Dear Darlene,

    Wow, so the film industry is a revelation when you have had the experience you have had. Actually, can you give me an example (without naming names)? I’ve read your blog and realize how film-script writers can be torn apart in the process of making a film. But fill me in better about how other aspects of the process queer it for you.

    Would the problem be the same for you in a film that was an adaptation of a play? Would you expect, for example, a film such as Twelve Angry Men or Rope to be just as disillusioning?

    You say you used to love films as a kid. Me too. I loved to go down to State Street in Santa Barbara and go to the Arlington and the Granada and watch the latest release. I and a friend or two would watch a movie and sneak cigarettes occasionally if we could. After the movie we would walk around State Street and hope that we would meet some girls and … geez, I don’t know exactly what we hoped – probably a combination of romance, art and combustible hormones. I do remember how idyllic the ambience was on certain summer nights when the Santa Ana’s were blowing and I felt that I was catching a bit of heaven on earth.

    I remember two films I saw. One was a surprise to me, the John Frankenheimer movie, The Train, starring Burt Lancaster and Paul Scofield. The other was Spartacus. That movie I saw with my younger brother and my mother. About twenty minutes from the end of the movie, my mother suddenly told my brother and me that she was leaving the theater and we could stay and watch it if we wanted. That is how powerful the last part of the movie was for her. It’s interesting, because I too sensed that there was something so powerful being communicated that if I allowed myself to feel it I would be completely smithereened. Instead, I managed (barely) to keep it together and follow things in a more superficial way – mostly by concentrating on Jean Simmons’ body (a curious example of thank God for small favors).

    Yes, I can understand your reaction to Vertigo. I think It Is mainly a movie for men. The obsessive fascination that Scotty has with Madeleine is a particularly man’s point of view. It is difficult to do the reverse and view Scotty from Judy’s point of view in the same way. The soundtrack for the movie did not put me to sleep; instead, it touched something in my cells. I immediately recognized that it had motifs from Wagner’s opera, Tristan and Isolde. I experienced this intense and overwhelming fascination with Madeleine as an archetype, the beloved in feminine form. Also, because of my particular life experiences I resonated deeply with Scotty’s devastation and pain.

    I once heard a brilliant definition of tragedy: a tragedy is when the central character is greatly devoted to the secondary principle of life. The definition is saying that the secondary principle of life is that we are separate and mortal. If we are mightily devoted to this principle, then there is the possibility for tragedy on the grand scale. If we are just living the principle in the mediocre sense that almost everyone lives it, there is not necessarily a tragedy but the inevitable suffering that is involved in life. So, Vertigo was for me the ultimate tragedy.

    Anyway, enough said for now.

    Take Care, Christo

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  30. This is from an 81-year-old man who’s had three different last names in his lifetime, one of them being Wiener. Hi, Darlene, I recall exchanging some thoughts on Classmates.com as you were returning to college for graduate work, but haven’t seen anything more. That hasn’t kept me from searching for your work, and I’ve just finished “An Agoraphobic’s Guide….” I enjoyed it immensely despite never having been a Michael Jackson fan; you made him far more human than I would ever have imagined possible. I am next attempting “Pizza Man” although I haven’t read a script straight through for decades.

    ‘Not sure I told you, but after retirement from education, I wrote sports and features for the Lompoc Record, Santa Maria Times and Williamson County (TX) Sun from 1990 to 2005. Just recently I picked up some assignments from the Sun Rays Magazine here in Sun City/Georgetown, Texas.

    Among my favorite fiction writers are Lee Child, Michael McGarrity and Rick Riordan. However, just before I read your book, I completed Nelson DeMille’s “The Lion,” and can say both you and he are superbly able to be humorous while leading into serious subjects. There’s probably a professional writers’ term for that, but at best I’ve been a semi-pro.

    By the way, you’re the second screenwriter whom I’ve known, the first being the late Ken Trevey, SBHS Class of ’47.

    Since I’ve said nothing as interesting as Chris Boys has, many times above, I won’t automatically expect a response. Would I value one? Absolutely!

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    • Mr Wiener!!! It’s such a thrill to hear from you! How did you find my blog? How did you find my BOOK?! OMG, I’m so nervous writing this because you were one of my favorite English teachers at La Colina – I think I had you in 7th grade, and I remember you teaching us sooooo much about grammar. I think of you every time I hesitate and wonder if I’m using a comma or a semi-colon properly. What a coincidence that you are writing me after Chris Boys contacted me here – Remember Chris from La Colina? He was the smartest boy I knew who also surfed.

      I remember exchanging emails with you a number of years ago, and you mentioned at the time that you were doing some sports writing. I’m so happy to see that you’re still picking up assignments. Send me some links to your articles; I’d love to read them.

      Thank you so much for contacting me and letting me know that you read and enjoyed my memoir. If you purchased the book from Amazon, maybe you could write a little review for the book’s page. And you could mention you were my 7th grade English teacher! That should win points with readers.

      Please come back and visit me here on my blog. I try to post something every week or two so if you sign up you’ll be notified when something new shows up here. In the meantime, I have your email address now, and once I sign off here I’ll send you mine.

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  31. Dear Darlene,

    It’s cool reading your account of getting ready for your daughter’s wedding. It’s a window into another world. I remember when my brother got married in Santa Barbara about thirty years ago. He was so freaking nervous. We were in the limo going to the church and he was practically sweating, so I came to the rescue and gave him a Valium. A couple hours later at the wedding party, he came over and slapped me on the back and told me he had relaxed and got back into the body. What’s that saying? – Always be prepared like a Boy Scout.

    You know, I’ve been racking my brain trying to remember Mr. Wiener, but I can’t. In fact, I can only remember a very few names of teachers from junior high and high school. But what I do remember is the great education I received at both schools. Do you remember ninth grade and how La Colina went on double sessions because the new junior high in Goleta wasn’t finished yet? My parents were really into me getting a good education, and they thought it wouldn’t be best for me to go to La Colina that year. So, instead, I attended ninth-grade at the private school, Laguna Blanca, in Hope Ranch. That school also had very good teachers. At the end of ninth grade my parents offered to let me continue at Laguna Blanca, but I told them that it wasn’t any better than the classes I was taking in public school, so they let me go to Sam Marcos.

    You know that saying about how youth is wasted on the young? – well, there’s a lot of truth to that in my case. When I look back, I can see the dedication, professionalism and the beautiful humanity of my teachers. So, Mr. Wiener, if you were my teacher, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. And if you weren’t my teacher, I still think you as a way to think your compatriots who gave me so much.

    I do remember one teacher from La Colina, Mrs. Chalburg. I remember her because of a day we all remember. It was a Thursday in November of seventh grade. I was sitting in her class, which as I remember was a history class, and the principal came on the intercom and said, “As some of you may have heard, there are news reports that the president has been shot. We don’t yet know his condition, and I will come on again when there’s further news.”

    We all just sat quietly, and then about fifteen minutes later, the principal came back on the intercom and announced that the president was dead. He said that he was suspending school for that day and the next, but we could still go and eat lunch if we wanted to. We slowly got up and exited the class, and as I was leaving, I looked at Mrs. Chalburg and she was sobbing violently. It’s hard to believe, but that was the first time in my life I had seen a grownup sobbing. I saw a lot more of them sobbing that weekend.

    When I got home that day, my father had returned from work and he broke out a bottle of scotch and began to drink, but not to excess. We had a couple records of President Kennedy’s speeches, and he played them and we all listened, and I too begin to sob. That was a beautiful, powerful weekend. I remember it as one of the very few times in my youth I forgot about going surfing.

    My father loved the United States, and he loved the president. He had immigrated to the United States when I was six years old. Later in his life he told me of how he knew that life in postwar Britain was going to be a dismal affair. He had a degree in electrical engineering, and he felt the opportunity for a good life was in Canada and the United States. We arrived in Canada when I was fourteen months old. He had $100 to his name. He sent my mother and me to live with my mother’s relatives in Vancouver while he looked for a job in Toronto. Soon he had a good job at General Electric, and we began a life in the New World.

    By the time I was twelve, we were living in Santa Barbara. Geez, I couldn’t believe it, the place was a paradise. And once I discovered the ocean and my father bought me a surfboard, half the time I was living as if in a beautiful dream.

    Take care

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  32. To Chris Boys: There’s no question that La Colina was an exceptional place, for teachers as much as for students. Principal Jack Richards wanted all of us to grow. That’s one reason I keep in touch — or at least try to contact — with as many former-students and colleagues as possible. At some point, I plan to read each of your posts. After that, I will probably wonder when Darlene will write about you.

    To Darlene: Your Mother of the Bride piece was delightful, but I’m unclear as to when the wedding takes/took place (or did I not read thoroughly enough?)..

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  33. Hey, wasn’t totally sure how to personally reach you, but just wanted to share that I’m an agoraphobic screenwriter myself. It’s a bit frustrating, not just the career of a screenwriter, but to be struggling with mental illnesses on top of it. I would love to speak to you personally on the matter if possible. Thanks for sharing your story! You’re an inspiration.

    Reply ↓

    • It’s nice to meet a kindred spirit. Have you read my memoir, An Agoraphobic’s Guide to Hollywood? I think you’ll really relate to what I experienced, especially during that period of time when I was working with Michael Jackson. And yes, you’re right: it’s “frustrating” “struggling with mental illness” on top of having to deal with the film industry. But keep this in mind: There are so many others in the business that also struggle with mental illness. It might not be agoraphobia; maybe it’s ADHD or Bipolar, Borderline Personality, Drug addiction, Alcoholism, etc. etc. But because of the stigma of mental illness people suffer silently, afraid that others in the business might judge them for what they’re struggling with. Everyone lives with so much fear in Hollywood – there’s so much pressure that you will lose your job or worse, not be hired at all. The competition is intense, and just knowing that there are so many people that would do anything to have your job is scary. That fear only intensifies mental illness and so yeah, my heart goes out to anyone in the business who has to struggle alone. And agoraphobia is something most people just.don’t.get. They can’t understand how anyone can just stay indoors and not want to have a a life outside their front door. A few years ago I wanted to look for a support group for agoraphobics that I could join, but it dawned on me that probably there wouldn’t be many people at the meetings. Seriously. No joke implied. The good thing about the internet is that if you’re an agoraphobic you can meet other agoraphobics online without ever leaving your house. So welcome to my own little version of an agoraphobic’s support group. You’re always welcome to check in here, and I will always answer you back.

      Reply ↓

      • Thanks for replying, it was great to read your insight. Thank you also for sharing your article pertaining to the matter. It’s a difficult thing for people to understand, like you said, but it’s even more difficult having to work with it, around it, through it, etc. It’s good to read, however, that an agoraphobic is capable.

      • Always! More than capable! With our support systems in place (and they vary from person to person) we can do just fine. Keep writing, keep fighting the good fight, and keep me posted. You know where to find me now.

  34. Dear Darlene,

    I’m an actress from Berlin (Germany). I was so fascinated by your play “Pizza Man” that I dicided to translate it into German and thus to share it with german audience. (Don’t worry, before I became an actress I made my degree in German and English :-) ) I even found a german publisher in Berlin who started negotiations with “Samuel French”. Unfortunately the last weeks we were led from one contact person to another. The production is planned on the June 27th. Could you probably tell me, who is the right guy/girl to write the emails to? I’m a bit lost somehow. I’m reading your book now (An Agoraphobic’s Guide to Hollywood) and have the same magic feeling as I read your “Pizza Man” first time …

    I hope it’s ok, that I wrote to you directly – I just don’t know what else I could do!

    Best regards from the cold Berlin

    Julia

    Reply ↓

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