Marja Bergen decided long ago that she wanted to fight the stigma attached mental illness. She has done that with her writing, starting with an article in the Vancouver Sun in 1993. Many articles followed and then, in 1999, a book that is still in print: Riding the Roller Coaster: Living with Mood Disorders.

In 2005, seeing the pain and damage caused by misunderstandings about mental health issues amongst Christians, she narrowed her focus by raising awareness in the Church. She wrote articles to show what having a mental illness means to people of faith. Her book with that theme, A Firm Place to Stand: Finding Meaning in a Life with Bipolar Disorder was published in 2008.

While writing A Firm Place to Stand, Marja discovered she had a gift of helping others with mental health issues. It was a privilege to be able to listen to them and know that she was able to help them feel better. By the time the book was fully written she had founded Living Room, a faith-based peer support group for people with depression, anxiety and bipolar disorders.

At the beginning of 2013, wanting to provide support for people who were unable to attend groups, Marja started emailing Reflections on Scripture to those who had contacted her in the past. She used her photographs as illustrations. The devotionals still go out every Monday and Thursday morning.

Marja has lived with bipolar type 1 disorder since 1965. She has been married to Wes for over 50 years and has a son, Cornelius and daughter-in-law, Jeannette.