8 minute read
Mariel Hemingway in Idaho with Intention
PHOTO TAL ROBERTS
BY SABINA DANA PLASSE
For many, Mariel Hemingway is a household name that is synonymous with American life, culture, history, and prominence. Her grandfather, Ernest Hemingway, a Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winner, changed American literature. On her own, Mariel garnered a Golden Globe, Academy Award, and BAFTA nomination as a young actress. Her performance in Woody Allen’s Manhattan (among many of her films) was memorable and launched her career as a notable and accomplished actress. Mariel has raised two daughters, whose careers are flourishing, and she is very happy in a long-time relationship with her life partner, Bobby Williams. She is ready to take on her lifelong dream of making mental wellness a priority for Americans and the world.
“Idaho is my home,” says Mariel. “It’s unlike any place I know. There is the shiny life of Sun Valley, where glitz and glamour types have come since the ‘30s and ‘40s, and then there’s Idaho as what it is. Those who stay in Idaho get it. It is a soulful understanding. There’s something about being here that makes you real.”
Idaho has always been home for Mariel. It’s where she grew up, lived most of her life, and raised her daughters. She has not only found inspiration and a calling to help people battling mental health issues, but Mariel has also taken on new projects in the role of producer, a role she cherishes. Since offering the world a glimpse of her life and family in the 2013 Primetime Emmy Award nominee documentary, Running from Crazy, by Barbara Kopple, followed by the release of her book Out Came the Sun: Overcoming the Legacy of Mental Illness, Addiction, and Suicide in My Family in 2015, Mariel continues to thrive on these accomplishments and spark new opportunities.
PHOTO TAL ROBERTS
“I’ve been speaking around the country, and I have discovered many groups that are doing very effective work in the mental health space and with addiction and suicide prevention. However, in general, no one knows where to go, for instance, if a child is bipolar or suicidal or how to handle senior depression,” she says.
Mariel is a supportive and outspoken champion for open discussion of mental health and wellness resources. She is launching the Mariel Hemingway Foundation to answer a need and a calling, especially since the pandemic.
“I started the Mariel Hemingway Foundation to be a resource and a place to find answers,” she explains. “I am raising seed capital to move this into the next phase with an app that will work around the country that anyone can use to find mental health support wherever they are. In addition, I want to create a show to talk to kids, famous people, firemen, and people who want to share their stories and experience with addiction, suicide, cutting, or anything that has compromised their mental health. I want people to share their stories about how they survived and are continuing to survive.”
Mariel knows this world well and is open to sharing her own experience with depression and suicidal thoughts. “I know what it’s like. The more I talk about it, the easier it becomes,” she says. “I want to hear people’s stories and figure out where they are and what is happening in their communities to find what is helpful. I want to give visual inspiration with a sense of hope and solution for every individual who needs it. I want to do this because it doesn’t exist. I want to bring light to it. People are not alone, and there are different types of help from holistic tendencies, medications, and so much more. I want to help create community and a place for people to go.”
Voices like Mariel’s give people the confidence to seek help. With increased awareness and by addressing issues productively, a new path to make mental health a part of everyday society’s conversations can exist. Mariel is working on her foundation with insurance companies and their behavioral health areas to support and create an extensive reach. “It’s exciting because insurance companies need to address mental health powerfully and effectively. Education is showing that our physical bodies and mental states are linked. One doesn’t go without the other. Opening all these doors is important and needed now,” she adds.
When it comes to mental health, it’s more often about checking boxes instead of checking in. Mariel’s life experiences, her dedication to a life of health and wellness, and her understanding of the human condition makes a bona fide difference. She is aware that one size does not fit all regarding mental health and finding well-being.
“Holistically, there’s a great deal that’s needed,” she says. “We need to get back to having conversations. It is important. It’s about the variables and choices. Everyone must be willing to talk about it with information and support. We need to move away from the term ‘crazy’ into more understanding.”
Being focused on health and wellness is not a fleeting pastime for Mariel. She has been part of the mental wellness call for decades, if not her entire life. “After what we have been through, throughout the world, everyone is feeling anxious and apprehensive about the future. It has nothing to do with belief systems. Everyone has underlying anxiety about our choices and the world we live in. It’s a tough time for many humans. I want people to feel better about the lives they lead and give them resources, to reach out and talk to people who feel the same way,” she shares.
Mariel’s is a voice that’s there for those in need, not only because she has grown up with mental health challenges all around her, but also because she has had her own battles. She’s not afraid to reveal her personal struggles and wants others to feel comfortable doing so as well.
“I had family shame and embarrassment about mental health,” she says. “However, no one has a new story about this. Millions of people have gone through similar situations at every level. Yet, it’s the effect of the humanity of a single person who has had a traumatic experience that helps you begin to understand that community is most important, along with being able to say, ‘We’re all in this together,’ because we are.”
Evolving and having the freedom to speak freely about mental health and wellness is a topic that has been far from taboo since the pandemic. Yet has it been embraced even in our new world existence?
“It takes a person willing to say we all have issues,” says Mariel. “My family didn’t know, and that was the time they lived in, which was very different than today. Doing things that no one did and coming from a generation that didn’t speak as we do now, the judgment didn’t exist for someone like my grandfather, who wrote about relationships, women, and the sport of hunting. It was part of his makeup to live in the moment, and he loved the outdoors. But unfortunately, he may have suffered for a very long time, and drinking was self-medication to numb the overwhelming feelings he had.”
PHOTO TAL ROBERTS
Mariel is working on other engaging projects, including producing a show about her grandfather’s book, A Moveable Feast. A semi-fictional period piece that includes her sisters, it is a project that has been in the works for some time. As much as she loves being on camera, especially speaking and having conversations, Mariel enjoys the producer role. “It’s creating with less ego involved,” she says. “I find it liberating.”
At her side, Mariel’s entrepreneur partner, Bobby, is doing his cutting-edge health and wellness exploration with the Stratosphere ATC Chamber, which allows a human to achieve the elevation of Mount Everest in only minutes and then return to current elevation – a fascinating health invention. His work is excitingly progressive, and as a couple, Mariel and Bobby are a 21st-century model of living. As they navigate a world in need of relief, healing, and achieving wellness, their dedication to the mind and body connection is a propeller to both remedy and achievement.
“Bobby is in the throes of launching a state-of-the-art health machine that significantly shifts physical health,” tells Mariel. “It is these types of efforts, which take time to manifest, that have meaning, a lasting effect, and an impact.”
At 60, Mariel is ready for the more difficult challenges she is taking on and admits that, as a woman, it’s not easy. “The pressure to be a woman is hard, especially if you have been youthful and active your whole life. You don’t feel old, but your body changes. It works to stay healthy, but you must do it properly, and it is a great deal more work, but it’s much more rewarding. Your whole being is stepping up to the plate to keep up with mental and physical and emotional demands, so you need to have structure. You must face and conquer. As Bobby says, ‘We are going to make 60 the new 30.’” marielhemingwayfoundation.com @marielhemingway
