Dear Maria,

The first time I saw your stand-up routine several years ago, I thought you were, well, crazy. My dad showed me your "Special Special Special" on Netflix, and it was very weird. Your voice, as you describe it, is "high-pitched and irritating," and grown women who sound like prepubescent children tend to make me more than a little annoyed. Furthermore, you switched back and forth between different voices so much that I thought you were schizophrenic, and the fact that you started bits off with lines like, "So, is anyone here thinking of suicide?" kind of freaked me out. Besides, what full-fledged comedian films a stand-up special in her living room with only her parents as audience members? I just didn't get it.

Earlier this year, I rediscovered your material through a stand-up comedy station I have on Pandora. At this point, I had gone through several emotional breakdowns and had recently started becoming more open with people around me about my own struggles with anxiety and depression. Surprisingly, all of the aspects about your work that had previously annoyed and/or scared me were now funny and endearing. Sure, your voices are weird, but they're also incredibly funny; I actually wish I could manipulate my vocal chords like you do! (Plus, I'm sorry I thought you were schizophrenic. I know now that hearing voices is different from doing voices, and I extend my deepest apologies for the misdiagnosis and implicit shaming.) All your bits on mental heath issues that I once found creepy were now very relatable and humorous. Your bit on understanding abusive relationships because you're in one with yourself mirrored the negative self-talk I do in my head; the one on your family playing Joy Whac-A-Mole describes exactly how I feel whenever my family crushes my happiness; and your advice for coping with repetitive, dark thoughts is actually quite helpful. (Seriously, anytime I have a super negative thought now, I just Google it. Turns out, you're right; there are plenty of people who feel exactly as I do.)

I think one of the reasons your material initially turned me off was because some of it reminded me too much of myself. For so long, I thought that living with mental illness was something shameful that I had to hide. And the fact that you could get up on stage and admit things in front of large crowds of strangers, which I'd have trouble admitting in a therapist's office, really threw me off at first. (Now, I think it's inspired.) When your Netflix sitcom, "Lady Dynamite," came out, I watched all 12 episodes in roughly two weeks. (And that was with me trying to "savor" the experience; I could've watched the whole thing in a single day.) In the show, you tackle topics like being in a psych ward, hypomania, and taking brain medication, subjects that shouldn't be funny, but with you, are.

Judging by all the tweets I see about how many people love "Lady Dynamite," I know I can't be your only major fan. You've given people a space to talk about a "taboo" topic that affects so many. On a personal level, you've made me more comfortable talking about my own mental health struggles publicly. I can't wait to see you live when you come to D.C. in October!

Thanks for reminding me that I'm never alone!

Love,

A Devoted Fan