Jamie Tworkowski Addresses Depression and Recovery at TEDx

David McKenna talks about his descent from a happy childhood into a life filled with partying, abusing and dealing drugs, five DUIs, felonies and jail time. On a road that was basically a fast track to the pit of hell, David turned his life around after he was released from jail, worked through a rehab program, and was introduced to God. McKenna is portrayed by British actor Rupert Friend in the To Write Love On Her Arms movie.

Renee Yohe shares her personal account of drinking, drug addiction, self-mutilation, and recovery. She talks about trying to kill herself by getting hit by a car and keeping her drugs, cutting and suicide attempts from her parents. She says that her friends at school stopped talking to her. Renee eventually moved in with her drug dealer and became very addicted to cocaine and pills. With little hope left, her friends intervened to help her detox and get treatment.

This David McKenna interview was conducted several months before his death in 2012, just after To Write Love On Her Arms premiered at the Florida Film Festival. He is portrayed by British actor Rupert Friend in the movie. In 2006, Renee Yohe detoxed at David's house after the treatment center considered her too high of a risk to admit.

This news segment chronicles how Renee Yohe's story led to an online movement. Her friend and To Write Love On Her Arms founder Jamie Tworkowski is interviewed. Renee also speaks.

Kat Dennings (2 Broke Girls) portrays Renee Yohe, a Florida teen who struggles with addiction and abuse. When friend Jamie Tworkowski (Chad Michael Murray) begins to share Yohe's story via MySpace and sells t-shirts to help fund her treatment, several high profile musicians take notice and soon a global movement begins. It leads to the founding of the TWLOHA non-profit organization to help people struggling with addiction, self-injury, depression, and thoughts of suicide.