Valley writer publishes first book to help those with mental illness

“God, Help My Madness” shares a story of faith, trauma and the fight to survive.

For the MVI

Valley resident Jill Runfola reflects on childhood abuse, mental health struggles and spiritual hardship in a Christian memoir centered on perseverance and faith in her first book, “God, Help My Madness: A Woman’s Fight for Sanity and Her Fight for Survival as a Teen.”

Drawing from experiences that include traumatic childhood abuse and periods of mental health hospitalization, Runfola recounts a difficult journey through circumstances that challenged her sense of safety, stability and hope.

At the center of the memoir is her belief that faith in God helped sustain her through periods when survival itself became a struggle. Rather than separating emotional suffering from spiritual experience, “God, Help My Madness: A Woman’s Fight for Sanity and Her Fight for Survival as a Teen” considers how the two intersected throughout Runfola’s life. Her story addresses the effects of childhood trauma alongside the realities of mental and spiritual distress, offering readers a firsthand perspective on enduring experiences that can be difficult to discuss openly. Through that vulnerability, the memoir presents survival not as a single turning point, but as a continuing process shaped by hardship, faith and perseverance.

Runfola’s motivation for sharing her experiences is grounded in the Christian conviction at the heart of the book: that nothing is impossible with the Lord. Her memoir reflects on how that belief became a source of strength while she faced circumstances that could otherwise have overwhelmed her. Instead of presenting faith as an absence of struggle, Runfola’s story places it within the struggle itself, showing how her relationship with God became part of the way she understood suffering, endurance and the possibility of continuing forward. God, Help My Madness: A Woman’s Fight for Sanity and Her Fight for Survival as a Teen may resonate particularly with adult readers interested in Christian testimony, personal accounts of surviving childhood trauma and memoirs addressing mental health challenges.

Runfola’s experiences are individual and do not replace professional mental health guidance, but her willingness to recount them can offer readers a personal perspective on faith during periods of profound difficulty. The book also speaks to families and communities seeking greater understanding of experiences that often remain hidden behind silence.

Through “God, Help My Madness: A Woman’s Fight for Sanity and Her Fight for Survival as a Teen,” Runfola transforms painful chapters of her life into a testimony centered on survival and spiritual conviction. By discussing childhood abuse, hospitalization and emotional suffering alongside the faith she credits with helping her endure, Runfola offers an account rooted in vulnerability rather than easy answers. Her message ultimately returns to the belief that carried her through those experiences: even in circumstances that appear impossible, she found reason to continue believing in hope.

The book is now available on Amazon in paperback, digital, or hard copy forms.