What do Edgar Allan Poe, Vincent Van Gogh, Virginia Woolf, Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway, Kurt Cobain, J. B. Fuqua, Abraham Lincoln, Patty Duke, Mike Wallace, Ted Turner, Barret Robbins, Dr. John Nash and Jane Pauley have in common?

They are among the millions of people who have had successful careers despite a diagnosis of serious mental illness. While there are many of people in virtually every Hall of Fame who earned that honor despite fighting a mental illness, there should be a Hall of Fame to recognize them as role models for people recently diagnosed or currently struggling with serious mental illness. These people are Symbols of Hope©. They should be recognized as such.

Pine Woods Retreat will accept nominations for the Symbols of Hope© award and, with permission, will post photos and short biographies on its website honoring people who are Symbols of Hope© to those with mental illness and their families.