Mark’s Wild Idea: To share his family’s story of mental illness and help others. To also choose commitment and love over fear. Mark Lukach is a father, husband, teacher, surfer, bodysurfer, and the author of the new book, My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward, published by Harper Collins and on shelves this month. Six years ago, Mark submitted an essay about his wife’s struggle with mental illness and its effect on their marriage that was immediately accepted and published in The New York Times’ famous Modern Love column. The story quickly led to a book deal, and to many reaching out thanking him for sharing about such a difficult topic.   In addition to being an awesome writer, Mark is a teacher and the Dean of a high school in northern California. He loves trail running, body surfing and surfing, especially in Ocean Beach. His message about sacrifice, commitment and being vulnerable is so important to living wildly, and also inspiring. Listen to this episode if:   You have or know someone with a mental illness. You are or want to be a writer. You love teaching high school students. You have a story you want to tell, but are afraid to tell it. You are a runner who loves hitting the trails. You love surfing or bodysurfing. For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/23