Tyra Manning

Dr. Tyra Manning defies stereotypes associated with mental illness. Those who know her as a successful schoolteacher and administrator are surprised to learn of her long-time battle with addiction and clinical depression, which she faced both before and after her husband was killed in the Vietnam War.

After retiring from a forty-year career in education, Dr. Manning has devoted her energies to comfort those suffering in silence, reduce the stigma associated with mental illness, and open doors to support and treatment. Though she travels around the country delivering messages of courage and hope in her new book, Where the Water Meets the Sand, Manning is a born and bred Texan. She currently resides in Texas Hill Country with her border collie mix, Bella.