Local author’s book shares a look into the American rehab machine, sparks conversation about mental health

“I didn’t want to burden my sister, I was embarrassed to talk to my friends, and I wanted immediate action.” 

—Wendy Henderson

For two years, Basin native Wendy Henderson helped care for her parents before watching them pass away. 

After her mother died in November 2024, Henderson found herself in a bad cycle; a little too much wine, unable to face her grief, a sinking depression. 

“I didn’t want to burden my sister, I was embarrassed to talk to my friends, and I wanted immediate action,” Henderson said. “My parents were both dead, so I knew it wouldn’t embarrass them if I sought help and tried to go somewhere.”

She sought help in the form of a luxury rehab center in Florida which promised yoga, spas, hiking and a path to sobriety. Little did she know that seven days later she would be on a plane back home, bringing with her an ulcer, anxiety, OCD, depression, and all the grief she left with plus some. 

“I Made the Call,” Henderson’s recently published book, recounts the week she spent at a detox center that opened her eyes to the mental health crisis in the United States and the corporations that manage it. 

Her journey started with a phone screening, which determined her insurance would help cover the stay. 

“I really felt I was duped by that assessment company,” Henderson said. “I think it was a call center that was getting paid by [the facility].”

Henderson shipped off as soon as possible and arrived at the facility in the middle of the night. She listed the many addictions and afflictions of people she met during her stay: heroin, alcohol, suboxone, meth, cocaine, plus a variety of mental health struggles. 

“I still worry about the people that are there. Many people I believe were probably court-ordered, there were people with the bracelets on their ankles. What I felt bad about was, there were people in there that had been in there for an extended period of time,” Henderson said. In her talks with them, she learned that none of them had been given care plans. 

“If they have good insurance they will graduate out and they will encourage them to stay there for the full 45-day ride. But the ones that didn’t have that, and there were a lot of them, they never got out.”

Henderson tried to explain to administrators that she did not need detox treatment and did not want to be medicated. The only advocate she had on her side was her therapist, Wayne, who could not move the higher-ups. 

“Maybe I wanted to see this, but [the general staff] were shaking their heads,” Henderson said. “Of course, all of the patients are like, ‘What are you doing here?’… but there’s no way out. As soon as you say the words, ‘I want out [against medical advice],’ they just go into action and tell you how you’re going to fail.”

When her husband and sister were finally able to get her home, Henderson was a wreck. She immediately fell asleep, and when she awoke at 2 a.m., began transcribing her journal entries from the center. 

“I wrote [my book] in three days starting on day 6 in the facility and I finished it on my plane ride home,” Henderson said. 

“The reason that I wrote it so fast is because it was so unreal that I wanted to make sure I got everything down as I was seeing it at that time.”

Henderson hoped that sharing her experience would help others who had similar problems getting help with mental health come forward and create more comfort, community discussion and transparency around the issue. She also sent a copy of her book to Wayne back at the facility, which she reports has now changed its website to explicitly outline that it is for detox patients. 

 “I really think most of the staff was very good,” Henderson said. “But when you get into the administrative area, I think they were a little bit corrupt or had lost their way. So it’s just sad, it’s a money machine.”

Since coming back to the Basin, Henderson has found a therapist that works for her, tackled her alcohol problem and gotten back into physical exercise, her passion. She has also sparked a conversation. 

“I’ve been asked to possibly be on the [Big Horn County] mental health board, which I’m honored, I think that would be very nice,” Henderson said. 

For others in her boots, Henderson recommends talking to a loved one first. 

“Before I left, my sister was like, ‘I didn’t even know you were having any problems.’ And we were together all the time,” she said. 

In researching options for further help, she suggested the Luke Bell Memorial Affordable Counseling Program, which provides access to mental health care for Big Horn County residents based on income. And as a community, Henderson said, learn to talk about mental health. 

“Be compassionate about your fellow man,” she said. “I met so many people in there I grew quickly to care deeply about and they all have their story, be it if they’re hardened criminals or just another person who ended up there by a few mistakes. I have not stopped thinking about those folks.”

“I Made the Call” is available on Kindle or paperback at amazon.com and can be borrowed at Big Horn County libraries.