Robert G Bienvenu
Robert "Bobby" Bienvenu was born December 27, 1948 in a small southern Louisiana town, to a Middle-class family, when America was the strongest and most prosperous country in the world. Bob went to Catholic Schools all his life and was an altar boy, and also in Boy Scouts, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. “Those years of growing up as a boy were the greatest and happiest years of my life,” Bobbie stated. He graduated from Catholic High School in New Iberia, however as life continues to change, for good or bad, Robert would soon encounter the bad.
He attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL), and majored in Psychology, as he intuitively knew he had hang-ups that he couldn’t put his finger on. Thus, he thought that studying the mind would give him insight into those hang-ups that continued to give him questions as to how he felt at times with his shyness and introversion. When he flunked out of college a few years later, the draft was in effect, and he got drafted into the Army. It was there in the Army, that due to the stress of training that Robert Bienvenu had a nervous breakdown, and he routinely saw Psychiatrists who diagnosed him with Paranoid Schizophrenia, and he was placed into the Mental Hospital for six weeks, until he was released with an Honorable Medical Discharge.
After the service it was the beginning of the 70s, with Woodstock, the Beatles, the counter-culture, with Rock and Roll, unusual attire, drugs, and slogans like “MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR,” and Timothy Leary’s “TUNE IN, TURN ON, DROP OUT.” During that time, Bob became a hippie, smoked weed, dropped acid, and grooved out until the acid trip ended as Bob had been busted earlier, as the gang he was part of disbanded. Everyone went their separate ways, getting girl friends, getting married, and getting jobs, leaving Bob alone. He went from job to job, after the hippie breakup, but nothing worked; he had a few relationships that failed, and the Schizophrenia started to manifest itself. For the next 10 to 15 years, Bob drifted aimlessly, going from job to job, without much success, and his main ambition of finding love never existed for him, as no one was never interested in him.
One day while he was washing dishes at a friends Restaurant, Possum’s in St. Martinville, half out of his mind, Bobbie was smoking four packs of cigarettes a day, a habit he had for 15 years, and drinking a whole case of diet Coke a day. He was led by the manager Todd Bertrand to talk to Mike Fuselier, a born-again Christian who led Bob to the Lord, and things started to get better for Bob. Mike helped Bob get a job at Acadiana High School, where he worked with Mike, taking care of special-need students with Autism, Down’s Syndrome. Muscular Dystrophy, and Cerebral Palsy, among other conditions. Bob was well-suited to the job, and worked there for four years, before becoming a janitor at another school, with better pay.
In the meantime he met a girl at church named Linda, they got married, and Bob was able to get Veterans’ disability on a partial percentage, then he was finally awarded 100 % VA disability, and also got Social Security Disability benefits. Bob retired, and took up weightlifting competition, and won 43 AAU world power-lifting championships, with, 44 official and unofficial State records in different organizations, and three world records, with the Cajun Hardcore power-lifting organization. Bob’s marriage lasted 12 years, ending in an ugly divorce, with Bob losing his house, living in various apartments, and continued going to church. Due to his relationship with Jesus, he was able get better in dealing with his Schizophrenia.
In 2007, Bob he started a live public access television show, “Insight into Mental Health,” on AOC (Acadiana Open Channel) in Lafayette, also broadcast on a delayed basis on YouTube Bob and the co-hosts discuss various mental Illnesses that are rampart in the world, with one-quarter of the population having a mental illness.
Bob has become a prolific writer, including publishing his autobiography, “From Light to Darkness to Glory,” about his life and sufferings with Schizophrenia, until he met Jesus, and then he was able to deal with his illness. He then wrote an inspirational book, entitled “Mental Illness, God, and Healing,” to explain how spirituality, and a belief in Jesus and God can help one with mental illness. Bob then wrote a series of four time-travel science-fiction novels, with very fascinating trips to the past, and future, here on earth, and other planets. Bob then wrote a Christian fiction novel, “Heaven’s Warriors,” dealing with a pastor named Richard Lerddren, who fights a conglomerate organization promoting sex slavery, and casinos, with warring God’s angels helping pastor Richard in supernatural battles with with Satan and his minions.
The last book Bob is working on is entitled “A Father’s Love,” about a boy growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, and discovering that God had chosen him to do great things. It chronicles his adventures from the age of four through high school, and how God helped him in his life.
Bob Bienvenu is single, living in Lafayette, Louisiana, where he continues to write his books, and continue his “Insight into Mental Health” TV show, which has continued for nine years. He continues his weight-lifting training, where in last September of 2016 he won 18 World power-lifting and weightlifting titles, with three state records. He did a 180 pound bench-press , 203 pound squat, and 319 pound dead-lift, and continues to compete.
Bob is still a devout Christian, and his main life-goal is to know Jesus better.
He attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL), and majored in Psychology, as he intuitively knew he had hang-ups that he couldn’t put his finger on. Thus, he thought that studying the mind would give him insight into those hang-ups that continued to give him questions as to how he felt at times with his shyness and introversion. When he flunked out of college a few years later, the draft was in effect, and he got drafted into the Army. It was there in the Army, that due to the stress of training that Robert Bienvenu had a nervous breakdown, and he routinely saw Psychiatrists who diagnosed him with Paranoid Schizophrenia, and he was placed into the Mental Hospital for six weeks, until he was released with an Honorable Medical Discharge.
After the service it was the beginning of the 70s, with Woodstock, the Beatles, the counter-culture, with Rock and Roll, unusual attire, drugs, and slogans like “MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR,” and Timothy Leary’s “TUNE IN, TURN ON, DROP OUT.” During that time, Bob became a hippie, smoked weed, dropped acid, and grooved out until the acid trip ended as Bob had been busted earlier, as the gang he was part of disbanded. Everyone went their separate ways, getting girl friends, getting married, and getting jobs, leaving Bob alone. He went from job to job, after the hippie breakup, but nothing worked; he had a few relationships that failed, and the Schizophrenia started to manifest itself. For the next 10 to 15 years, Bob drifted aimlessly, going from job to job, without much success, and his main ambition of finding love never existed for him, as no one was never interested in him.
One day while he was washing dishes at a friends Restaurant, Possum’s in St. Martinville, half out of his mind, Bobbie was smoking four packs of cigarettes a day, a habit he had for 15 years, and drinking a whole case of diet Coke a day. He was led by the manager Todd Bertrand to talk to Mike Fuselier, a born-again Christian who led Bob to the Lord, and things started to get better for Bob. Mike helped Bob get a job at Acadiana High School, where he worked with Mike, taking care of special-need students with Autism, Down’s Syndrome. Muscular Dystrophy, and Cerebral Palsy, among other conditions. Bob was well-suited to the job, and worked there for four years, before becoming a janitor at another school, with better pay.
In the meantime he met a girl at church named Linda, they got married, and Bob was able to get Veterans’ disability on a partial percentage, then he was finally awarded 100 % VA disability, and also got Social Security Disability benefits. Bob retired, and took up weightlifting competition, and won 43 AAU world power-lifting championships, with, 44 official and unofficial State records in different organizations, and three world records, with the Cajun Hardcore power-lifting organization. Bob’s marriage lasted 12 years, ending in an ugly divorce, with Bob losing his house, living in various apartments, and continued going to church. Due to his relationship with Jesus, he was able get better in dealing with his Schizophrenia.
In 2007, Bob he started a live public access television show, “Insight into Mental Health,” on AOC (Acadiana Open Channel) in Lafayette, also broadcast on a delayed basis on YouTube Bob and the co-hosts discuss various mental Illnesses that are rampart in the world, with one-quarter of the population having a mental illness.
Bob has become a prolific writer, including publishing his autobiography, “From Light to Darkness to Glory,” about his life and sufferings with Schizophrenia, until he met Jesus, and then he was able to deal with his illness. He then wrote an inspirational book, entitled “Mental Illness, God, and Healing,” to explain how spirituality, and a belief in Jesus and God can help one with mental illness. Bob then wrote a series of four time-travel science-fiction novels, with very fascinating trips to the past, and future, here on earth, and other planets. Bob then wrote a Christian fiction novel, “Heaven’s Warriors,” dealing with a pastor named Richard Lerddren, who fights a conglomerate organization promoting sex slavery, and casinos, with warring God’s angels helping pastor Richard in supernatural battles with with Satan and his minions.
The last book Bob is working on is entitled “A Father’s Love,” about a boy growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, and discovering that God had chosen him to do great things. It chronicles his adventures from the age of four through high school, and how God helped him in his life.
Bob Bienvenu is single, living in Lafayette, Louisiana, where he continues to write his books, and continue his “Insight into Mental Health” TV show, which has continued for nine years. He continues his weight-lifting training, where in last September of 2016 he won 18 World power-lifting and weightlifting titles, with three state records. He did a 180 pound bench-press , 203 pound squat, and 319 pound dead-lift, and continues to compete.
Bob is still a devout Christian, and his main life-goal is to know Jesus better.