Written with authority and compassion, this is the essential resource for individuals and families seeking expert guidance on diagnosis, treatment, and recovery, featuring inspiring, true stories from real people in their own words.\\nMillions of people in the United States are affected by mental illness every year, and the Covid-19 pandemic only further exposed the shortcomings of the American mental health system. Too many are confused, afraid, and overwhelmed, with many asking themselves the same questions: What does it mean when different doctors give me different diagnoses? What if my insurance won’t cover my treatment? Will I ever feel better? Families and friends are often left in the dark about how best to help their loved ones, from dealing with financial and logistical issues, to handling the emotional challenges of loving someone who is suffering.\nYou Are Not Alone is here to offer help. Written by Dr. Ken Duckworth with the wisdom of a psychiatrist and the vulnerability of a peer, this comprehensive guide centers the poignant lived experiences of over 125 individuals from across the country whose first-person stories illustrate the diversity of mental health journeys. This book also provides\nPractical guidance on dealing with a vast array of mental health conditions and navigating care Research-based evidence on what treatments and approaches work Insight and advice from renowned clinical experts and practitioners\\nThis singular resource—the first book from the National Alliance on Mental Illness—is a powerful reminder that help is here, and you are never alone.

Revised and updated, Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder is a groundbreaking, comprehensive program to help those with bipolar disorder--and those who care about them--gain permanent control over their lives. Most people diagnosed with bipolar disorder are sent home with the name of a doctor and multiple prescriptions. However, few people with bipolar disorder are able to find long-term stability with medications alone. Bipolar disorder researcher and expert Julie A. Fast, who was diagnosed with the illness at age thirty-one, and specialist John Preston, PsyD, offer the pioneering Take Charge program used around the world to help readers promote stability, reduce mood swings, increase work ability, decrease health care costs, and improve relationships. The book guides those with bipolar disorder and their loved ones toward a comprehensive personal treatment plan by incorporating: Medications and bipolar-safe supplements Lifestyle changes that help manage bipolar symptoms naturally Behavior modifications that reduce and prevent symptoms Guidelines on assembling an effective support team By helping readers gather powerful strategies, Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder delivers a dynamic program to treat this difficult but ultimately manageable illness.

This book has been replaced by Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide, Third Edition, ISBN 978-1-4625-3498-2.

Going bravely where no other bipolar book has gone before, here Hilary Smith offers devastatingly on-target, honest--and riotously funny--insights into living with bipolar and answers some of the hardest questions facing her fellow bipolaristas: Can anything ever be the same again? Am I still me if I take mind-altering meds? Can other people tell I have bipolar? Can I get this thing removed?Bipolar is one of the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric conditions among teens and twenty-somethings--yet there are very few books out there written specifically for teens and twenty-somethings experiencing mental illness for the first time. Welcome to the Jungle (Conari Press, May 2010) fills that gap with its upfront, empowering approach to the challenges of being diagnosed with bipolar. Both humorous and immensely honest, it offers a true "in the trenches" perspective readers will trust.With chapters ranging from What Just Happened?: Life Beyond The Diagnosis to Here Be Downers: Drugs, Booze, and Suicide to Hippy Shit That Actually Works: Herbs, Wilderness Time, and Other Ways to Help Keep Your Shit Together to Hell is Finding Good Insurance: How to Get Your Ass Covered in Troubled Times, Smith brings bipolar self help to the street level.

Maj. Gen. Gregg Martin cut a striking figure in the Army: athletic, quick witted, devout, and studious, he was a natural leader. Thanks to his engineering and leadership knowhow, Martin was chosen to lead the thousands of combat engineers who paved the way for 100,000 Army troops to battle their way to Baghdad in 2003. Martin was astonishing to watch as he led this effort, his mind laser focused and body vibrating with energy. He made quick decisions, often anticipating and solving problems before orders came down. Only years later would he learn how the pressure of organizing dozens of simultaneous life-or-death missions each day altered the biochemistry of his brain. Since adolescence he'd had what psychiatrists call a 'hyperthymic personality' - an exceptionally positive, energetic, and can-do disposition. But the Iraq War triggered what military and Veterans Administration psychiatrists ultimately diagnosed as late-onset bipolar disorder, a chemical imbalance that sends sufferers whipsawing between grandiose imaginings and suicidal depressions. His increasing erratic behavior led to his forced resignation as president of the National Defense University and ended his military career.   Bipolar General offers a candid account of Martin's personal journey with undiagnosed mental illness as he rose through the ranks of the U.S. Army. The author provides a first-hand look at the various treatments available for bipolar disorder ranging from powerful medications to electroconvulsive therapy. He discusses why his condition went undiagnosed for so long and explores what can be done both within and outside  the armed forces to diagnose and treat mental illness. Bipolar General should be of value to those with mental illness and to the communities of family, friends, and caregivers surrounding them. 

A bicultural child of a Malay mother and an Indian father, Amelia Zachry was different from the get-go, never quite fitting in. In this raw, inspiring memoir, she chronicles the long, winding journey that brought her from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Kentucky, USA—the place she and her family now call home.\\nAmelia was nineteen years old, her future wide open, when a fellow student from her Kuala Lumpur university sexually assaulted her. After that night, she felt sullied—and convinced that what had happened was her fault. In the months and years that followed, she spiraled, first into isolation and then into promiscuity, as she attempted to try to take back some of the power that had been stripped from her that night. Eventually, she met the man who would become her husband and greatest advocate, Daniel, and began to emerge from that dark place—but even he couldn’t fight her demons for her. In her late twenties, Amelia was diagnosed with PTSD and bipolar II disorder, both of which would go on to shape her adult life as an individual, a wife, and a mother.\\nA memoir of trauma and healing, mental illness and resilience, culture shock and new beginnings, devastation and triumph, Enough is one woman’s story of learning to make peace with the fact that things are as they should be, even if she sometimes wishes they were different—and of discovering that however far away it may seem, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • In this “gripping” (TechCrunch), “eye-opening” (Gayle King, Oprah Daily) memoir of mental illness and entrepreneurship, the co-founder of the menswear startup Bonobos opens up about the struggle with bipolar disorder that nearly cost him everything.“Arrestingly candid . . . the most powerful book I’ve read on manic depression since An Unquiet Mind.”—Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of WorkLifeAt twenty-eight, fresh from Stanford’s MBA program and steeped in the move-fast-and-break-things ethos of Silicon Valley, Andy Dunn was on top of the world. He was building a new kind of startup—a digitally native, direct-to-consumer brand—out of his Manhattan apartment. Bonobos was a new-school approach to selling an old-school product: men’s pants. Against all odds, business was booming.Hustling to scale the fledgling venture, Dunn raised tens of millions of dollars while boundaries between work and life evaporated. As he struggled to keep the startup afloat, Dunn was haunted by a ghost: a diagnosis of bipolar disorder he received after a frightening manic episode in college, one that had punctured the idyllic veneer of his midwestern upbringing. He had understood his diagnosis as an unspeakable shame that—according to the taciturn codes of his fraternity, the business world, and even his family—should be locked away.As Dunn’s business began to take off, however, some of the very traits that powered his success as a founder—relentless drive, confidence bordering on hubris, and ambition verging on delusion—were now threatening to undo him. A collision course was set in motion, and it would culminate in a night of mayhem—one poised to unravel all that he had built.Burn Rate is an unconventional entrepreneurial memoir, a parable for the twenty-first-century economy, and a revelatory look at the prevalence of mental illness in the startup community. With intimate prose, Andy Dunn fearlessly shines a light on the dark side of success and challenges us all to take part in the deepening conversation around creativity, performance, and disorder.

The Rise and Fall of the World's Most Powerful Restaurant Critic and His Battle with Severe, Debilitating Depression   From the early 1980s to the mid-1990s, Bryan Miller was a household name among restaurant goers in the greater New York City area and beyond as the restaurant critic for the New York Times, as well as the author of numerous books, a public speaker, and a radio and television commentator. Over ten years as a columnist, he dined out more than five thou­sand times in the United States and abroad, from haute to humble. The Wine Spectator, in a front-page profile, declared Miller "the most powerful restaurant critic in America." And for much of that time, he wanted to die. Dining in the Dark chronicles Miller's battle with Bipolar II disorder, also known as depres­sion, which ruined his life, professionally and personally. Depression was directly responsible for his surrendering the New York Times restau­rant column and, shortly thereafter, leaving the paper altogether. Everything he had worked for so diligently, rising from cub reporter to big-city columnist in less than a decade, vanished. In the ensuing years, unable to work, he lost his home, his life savings, two wonderful wives, the chance to have a family, and numerous friends and colleagues. He became increasingly reclu­sive; like many victims of serious depression, he reached the point where he was afraid to answer the phone. Pile on a brain tumor, electroshock therapy, a near-fatal bout with Lyme disease, accidental drug overdoses (he was once carried out of the newsroom on a gurney), and you have a life in shambles. Dining in the Dark tells the story of Miller's battle, but it also brings hope by sharing his jour­ney to coping with, and finally conquering, his depression. The coping mechanisms he employed in order to get through the day will be of benefit to those in need of a helping hand. Dining in the Dark is philosophical, inspirational, educational, and even humorous at times. And, of course, there are lots of inside-the-New York Times anecdotes, as well as lots of food, wine, travel, and celebrity.

Reveals proven solutions for bettering the lives of people with serious mental illness, their families, and their communities. Leading scientist and gifted storyteller Rachel A. Pruchno, PhD, was shocked to encounter misinformation, ignorance, and intolerance when she sought to help her daughter, newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Turning to the scientific literature, Dr. Pruchno eventually found solutions, but she realized many others would need help to understand the highly technical writing and conflicting findings. In Beyond Madness--part memoir, part history, and part empathetic guide--Dr. Pruchno draws on her decades as a mental health professional, her own family's experiences with mental illness, and extensive interviews with people with serious mental illness to discuss how individuals live with these illnesses, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depression. The book * presents real-world vignettes that vividly describe what it is like to experience some of the most troubling symptoms of a severe mental illness * offers practical advice for how individuals, family members, and communities can help people with a serious mental illness * explains how people with mental illness can find competent health care providers, identify treatment regimens, overcome obstacles to treatment, cope with stigma, and make decisions * provides insight into programs, such as Crisis Intervention Training, that can help people undergoing mental health crisis avoid jail and get the treatment they need * takes aim at the popular concept of "rock bottom" and reveals why this is such a harmful and simplistic approach * advocates for evidence-based care * documents examples of communities that have embraced successful strategies for promoting recovery * shows that people with serious mental illnesses can live productive lives Meticulously researched and engagingly written, Beyond Madness is a call to action and a promise of hope for everyone who cares about and interacts with the millions of people who have serious mental illness. Family members, friends, teachers, police, primary care doctors, and clergy--people who recognize that something is wrong but don't know how to help--will find the book's practical advice invaluable.

A moving and heroic memoir about surviving suicide and long-term mental health complications, while summoning the courage required to persist in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles and spread a message of positivity. Lost in the depths of a devastating depression, Kevin Hines did the unthinkable and jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge. He is one of only four to ever have survived that jump with his full health and mobility intact. Hines then went on to accomplish what had formerly seemed impossible: he has dedicated his life to suicide prevention, reaching audiences well into the millions. With the help of his wife and family, he has spread his message of compassion and fighting to "be here tomorrow" on Good Morning America, the Today show, Larry King, and BuzzFeed, as well as countless other in-person speaking venues. Going far beyond his first book, The Art of Being Broken takes full advantage of the perspective Kevin has gained since his suicide attempt. In this new story, we learn that recovery is not a straight path but a constant journey, and often the best way to help ourselves stay grounded is by helping others in need. Including raw and moving contributions from those whose lives Kevin has saved, The Art of Being Broken will be indispensable for all those who are grappling with suicidal ideation and provides key insights to their loved ones.

Review\\n"Hammond is a bipolar patient with clinical training and honed writing skills, making her an ideal guide when Navigating Bipolar Country. She has collected stories—compelling, heartfelt, distressing, and reassuring—from bipolar sufferers, family, and professionals. Kudos to her and all the contributors."\n~S. Bruun-Meyer, Psychiatrist, Toronto\\n"Dr. Merryl Hammond's anthology Navigating Bipolar Country is a triumph in the field of bipolar disorder literature. Combining 42 essays told through the lens of individuals living with bipolar disorder, family members, and clinicians, she gives us an essential and unique read. These personal accounts provide priceless insights, comfort, and understanding of this complex disease. A rare gem, this book offers hope and is a must read for anyone striving to learn more about bipolar disorder and its far-reaching effects."\n~Sallie Crotty, author of Out of the Ashes: A Story of Recovery and Hope, forthcoming, June 2022\\n"Should be required reading for all health professionals. As a fellow sufferer and mental health practitioner, I recognize myself as a traveling companion to those traversing the wilds of bipolar country. In this masterful book exist deeper and richer answers to truths you seek; gifts you didn't even know you needed."\n~Caitlin Billings, LCSW, author of In Our Blood: A Memoir, forthcoming July 2022\\n"I love this book for so many reasons. Having dealt with bipolar issues in my own family, I can relate many of the challenges that come with traversing the path to mental wellness. Whether you have family members navigating bipolar or live with it yourself, you will find hope and inspiration in these pages. It's important we openly discuss mental illness in all its forms so people can find the support they need and we can work to remove the stigma. I highly recommend this powerful book."\n~Stephanie Chandler, author and founder of the Nonfiction Authors Association\\n"An engaging, powerful, insightful, and heartfelt anthology filled with creativity, determination, resilience, courage, compassion, and hope. Sure to inspire further exploration into bipolar disorder and its impacts."\n~Debbie Sesula, MA, CPS, Coordinator, North Shore Peer Support Program, Vancouver Coastal Health\\n"These engaging and inspiring personal stories build empathy, provide comfort, and inspire hope. I recommend this to anyone seeking a better understanding of mental illness."\n~Karen Jensen, Librarian\\n42 Candid, Powerful, Poignant Encounters with Bipolar Disorder\nFor those living with bipolar, supporting a family member, or treating it, navigating the journey can be unpredictable and often heartbreaking. This collection of personal testimonies takes you on a bumpy ride deep into bipolar country.\nDiscover what it’s like to live with bipolar from the inside out Hear from family members who support loved ones with bipolar Gain insights from health professionals who treat bipolar disorder\\nThe candid essays in Navigating Bipolar Country will captivate, educate, and inspire you. And help fight the stigma against bipolar disorder and all mental illnesses.\\nContributors\nForeword by Candida A. Fink, MD.\nJanette Abramowitz • Dennis Barras • Kayla Behbahani • Anthony Berger • Sarah Boon • Sheryl Bruce • Amy Cox • David Laing Dawson • Jens Peter Eckardt • Julie A. Fast • Ellie Gainey • Abdu’l-Missagh Ghadirian • Tami Hammond-Collins • Barbara Jacobson • Isabelle Lipari • Tara Mandarano • Stephanie Marie • Victoria Maxwell • Catharine McKenty • Brionna Morse • Amy Dodd Pilkington • Gina Roitman • Diana Samuel • Bruce Saunders • Laurel Saunders • Eric Smith • Janet L. Stanley • Natasha Tracy • Jayne Warren • Beverley Watkins • Gail Windsor • Tracy Windsor • Matthieu Zellweger • and others.\nEdited by Merryl Hammond, PhD., bestselling author of Mad Like Me: Travels in Bipolar Country.\\nClick on Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature to see how the book is structured and begin reading to start exploring bipo

The true story of how ABC broadcaster Craig Hamilton stared down his demons to survive a mental breakdown. Broken Open is the story of ABC sports broadcaster Craig Hamilton and how, on the eve of the biggest undertaking of his career, he suffered a complete mental breakdown. Instead of covering the Sydney Olympics Craig was confined to a padded cell in a mental institution and later diagnosed as suffering bipolar disorder. This catastrophe not only denied Craig his place at the Games, it almost ruined his career and turned his role as devoted husband and father into a living hell. From his initial shocking breakdown to his gradual and eventual recovery, Craig sifts through the evidence to identify the warning signs that might have told him he was in serious trouble. This trail identifies a family man who could be so typical of any of us. It illustrates that mental illness is not something that just happens to other people. It is an issue much closer to home and touches many more lives than we could ever imagine.

Warning: This book is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any of your problems. In actuality, this book expresses all of the problems I've encountered in my life since I was a child. Hi, my name is Yousef Saleh Erakat aka Fousey. I am a YouTuber, Actor, Wannabe Motivational Speaker, Artist, and a Depressive with over 15 million total YouTube subscribers, a couple of Hollywood movies on my resume, some big awards on my shelf, and for the first time, I will be opening up about how I survived my struggles with depression, anxiety, fame, suicidal thoughts, and addiction. Welcome to my life.

A Better Life is a frank and inspiring guide to living a happy, fulfilling life with the challenge of a mental health issue. The book tells Craig Hamilton's own amazing story of a busy broadcaster, dad, husband, and mental health campaigner lives with bipolar. Craig also shares the experiences of others in the public eye who are dealing with mental illness, including powerful and practical material from Andrew Johns (bipolar disorder), Garry McDonald (anxiety and depression), Jessica Rowe (postnatal depression), and Wally Lewis (depression). Craig's authentic, practical, and reassuring advice is combined by a wicked sense of humour that lifts the darker aspects of his story and makes for a truly compelling read.

The acclaimed author of An Unquiet Mind considers the age-old quest for relief from psychological pain and the role of the exceptional healer in the journey back to health. "To treat, even to cure, is not always to heal." In this expansive cultural history of the treatment and healing of mental suffering, Kay Jamison writes about psychotherapy, what makes a great healer, and the role of imagination and memory in regenerating the mind. From the trauma of the battlefields of the twentieth century, to those who are grieving, depressed, or with otherwise unquiet minds, to her own experience with bipolar illness, Jamison demonstrates how remarkable psychotherapy and other treatments can be when done well. She argues that not only patients but doctors must be healed. She draws on the example of W.H.R. Rivers, the renowned psychiatrist who treated poet Siegfried Sassoon and other World War I soldiers, and discusses the long history of physical treatments for mental illness, as well as the ancient and modern importance of religion, ritual, and myth in healing the mind. She looks at the vital role of artists and writers, as well as exemplary figures, such as Paul Robeson, who have helped to heal us as a people. Fires in the Dark is a beautiful meditation on the quest and adventure of healing the mind, on the power of accompaniment, and the necessity for knowledge.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!\nIn I’m Telling the Truth, but I’m Lying Bassey Ikpi explores her life—as a Nigerian-American immigrant, a black woman, a slam poet, a mother, a daughter, an artist—through the lens of her mental health and diagnosis of bipolar II and anxiety. Her remarkable memoir in essays implodes our preconceptions of the mind and normalcy as Bassey bares her own truths and lies for us all to behold with radical honesty and brutal intimacy.\nA The Root Favorite Books of the Year •A Good Housekeeping Best 60 Books of the Year • A YNaija 10 Notable Books of the Year •A GOOP 10 New Favorite Books • A Cup of Jo 5 Big Books of Fall • A Bitch Magazine Most Anticipated Books of 2019 • A Bustle 21 New Memoirs That Will Inspire, Motivate, and Captivate You • A Publishers Weekly Spring Preview Selection • An Electric Lit 48 Books by Women and Nonbinary Authors of Color to Read in 2019 • A Bookish Best Nonfiction of Summer Selection\n"We will not think or talk about mental health or normalcy the same after reading this momentous art object moonlighting as a colossal collection of essays.” —Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy\nFrom her early childhood in Nigeria through her adolescence in Oklahoma, Bassey Ikpi lived with a tumult of emotions, cycling between extreme euphoria and deep depression—sometimes within the course of a single day. By the time she was in her early twenties, Bassey was a spoken word artist and traveling with HBO's Def Poetry Jam, channeling her life into art. But beneath the façade of the confident performer, Bassey's mental health was in a precipitous decline, culminating in a breakdown that resulted in hospitalization and a diagnosis of Bipolar II.\nIn I'm Telling the Truth, But I'm Lying, Bassey Ikpi breaks open our understanding of mental health by giving us intimate access to her own. Exploring shame, confusion, medication, and family in the process, Bassey looks at how mental health impacts every aspect of our lives—how we appear to others, and more importantly to ourselves—and challenges our preconception about what it means to be "normal." Viscerally raw and honest, the result is an exploration of the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of who we are—and the ways, as honest as we try to be, each of these stories can also be a lie.

Cartoonist Ellen Forney explores the relationship between “crazy” and “creative” in this graphic memoir of her bipolar disorder, woven with stories of famous bipolar artists and writers. Shortly before her thirtieth birthday, Forney was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Flagrantly manic and terrified that medications would cause her to lose creativity, she began a years-long struggle to find mental stability while retaining her passions and creativity. \nSearching to make sense of the popular concept of the crazy artist, she finds inspiration from the lives and work of other artists and writers who suffered from mood disorders, including Vincent van Gogh, Georgia O’Keeffe, William Styron, and Sylvia Plath. She also researches the clinical aspects of bipolar disorder, including the strengths and limitations of various treatments and medications, and what studies tell us about the conundrum of attempting to “cure” an otherwise brilliant mind.\nDarkly funny and intensely personal, Forney’s memoir provides a visceral glimpse into the effects of a mood disorder on an artist’s work, as she shares her own story through bold black-and-white images and evocative prose.

A powerful personal journey to find meaning and life lessons in the words of a wildly popular 13th century poet.Rumi's inspiring and deceptively simple poems have been called ecstatic, mystical, and devotional. To writer and activist Melody Moezzi, they became a lifeline. In The Rumi Prescription, we follow her path of discovery as she translates Rumi's works for herself - to gain wisdom and insight in the face of a creative and spiritual roadblock. With the help of her father, who is a lifelong fan of Rumi's poetry, she immerses herself in this rich body of work, and discovers a 13th-century prescription for modern life. Addressing isolation, distraction, depression, fear, and other everyday challenges we face, the book offers a roadmap for living with intention and ease, and embracing love at every turn--despite our deeply divided and chaotic times. Most of all, it presents a vivid reminder that we already have the answers we seek, if we can just slow down to honor them. • You went out in search of gold far and wide, but all along you were gold on the inside. • Become the sky and the clouds that create the rain, not the gutter that carries it to the drain. • You already own all the sustenance you seek. If only you'd wake up and take a peek. • Quit being a drop. Make yourself an ocean.

“A magnificent gift to those of us who love someone who has a mental illness…Earley has used his considerable skills to meticulously research why the mental health system is so profoundly broken.”—Bebe Moore Campbell, author of 72 Hour HoldFormer Washington Post reporter Pete Earley had written extensively about the criminal justice system. But it was only when his own son—in the throes of a manic episode—broke into a neighbor's house that he learned what happens to mentally ill people who break a law. This is the Earley family's compelling story, a troubling look at bureaucratic apathy and the countless thousands who suffer confinement instead of care, brutal conditions instead of treatment, in the “revolving doors” between hospital and jail. With mass deinstitutionalization, large numbers of state mental patients are homeless or in jail-an experience little better than the horrors of a century ago. Earley takes us directly into that experience—and into that of a father and award-winning journalist trying to fight for a better way.

An attractive, highly successful Beverly Hills entertainment lawyer, Terri Cheney had been battling debilitating bipolar disorder for the better part of her life—and concealing a pharmacy’s worth of prescription drugs meant to stabilize her moods and make her "normal." In explosive bursts of prose that mirror the devastating mania and extreme despair of her illness, Cheney describes her roller-coaster existence with shocking honesty, giving brilliant voice to the previously unarticulated madness she endured. Brave, electrifying, poignant, and disturbing, Manic does not simply explain bipolar disorder—it takes us into its grasp and does not let go.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The PBS Newshour/New York Times Book Club January 2020 selection Selected by Emma Watson for her "Our Shared Shelf" Book Club" Finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for English-Language Nonfiction A Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection "A sledgehammer. . . . Her experiments with structure and language . . . are in the service of trying to find new ways to think about the past, trauma, repetition and reconciliation, which might be a way of saying a new model for the memoir." ―Parul Sehgal, The New York Times Heart Berries is a powerful, poetic memoir of a woman's coming of age on the Seabird Island Band in the Pacific Northwest. Having survived a profoundly dysfunctional upbringing only to find herself hospitalized and facing a dual diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder and bipolar II disorder; Terese Marie Mailhot is given a notebook and begins to write her way out of trauma. The triumphant result is Heart Berries, a memorial for Mailhot's mother, a social worker and activist who had a thing for prisoners; a story of reconciliation with her father―an abusive drunk and a brilliant artist―who was murdered under mysterious circumstances; and an elegy on how difficult it is to love someone while dragging the long shadows of shame. Mailhot trusts the reader to understand that memory isn't exact, but melded to imagination, pain, and what we can bring ourselves to accept. Her unique and at times unsettling voice graphically illustrates her mental state. As she writes, she discovers her own true voice, seizes control of her story, and, in so doing, reestablishes her connection to her family, to her people, and to her place in the world. "I am quietly reveling in the profundity of Mailhot’s deliberate transgression in Heart Berries and its perfect results. I love her suspicion of words. I have always been terrified and in awe of the power of words – but Mailhot does not let them silence her in Heart Berries. She finds the purest way to say what she needs to say... [T]he writing is so good it’s hard not to temporarily be distracted from the content or narrative by its brilliance... Perhaps, because this author so generously allows us to be her witness, we are somehow able to see ourselves more clearly and become better witnesses to ourselves." ―Emma Watson, Official March/April selection for Our Shared Shelf

Maintaining a relationship is hard enough without the added challenges of your partner’s bipolar disorder symptoms. Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder offers information and step-by-step advice for helping your partner manage mood swings and impulsive actions, allowing you to finally focus on enjoying your relationship while also taking time for yourself. This book explains the symptoms of your partner’s disorder and offers strategies for preventing them and responding to these symptoms when they do occur. This updated edition includes a new section about the medications your partner may be taking so that you can understand the side effects and help monitor his or her bipolar treatment. As a supportive partner, you deserve support yourself. This book will help you create a more balanced, fulfilling relationship. Improve your relationship by learning how to: • Identify your partner’s symptom triggers so you can prevent episodes • Improve communication by stopping irrational “bipolar conversations” • Handle your partner’s emotional ups and downs • Foster closeness and connection with your partner

As an adult, National Public Radio foreign correspondent Jacki Lyden has spent her life on the front lines of some of the world's most dangerous war zones. As a child, she lived in a war zone of a different kind. Her mother, Dolores, suffered from what is now called manic depression; but when Jacki was growing up in a small Midwestern town, Dolores was simply called crazy. In her manic phases, Dolores became Marie Antoinette or the Queen of Sheba, exotically delusional and frightening, yet to young Jacki also transcendent, even inspiring. In time, Jacki grew to accept, even relish, Dolores's bizarre episodes, marveling at her mother's creative energy and using it to fuel her own. Heartbreaking, hilarious, and lyrical, this memoir of a mother-daughter relationship is a testimony to obstinate devotion in the face of bewildering illness.

Erika Nielsen knew that her real language was music—her truest voice, the cello—by the time she was three years old. She knew she would become a professional musician by the eighth grade. But she could never understand why sometimes she felt as if she was floating on sparkling clouds, enchanted by her own brilliance, while at other times she huddled in a dark, wretched place, sobbing and overcome with her inadequacy. At age 27, she finally found out: she was mentally ill. In this frank and courageous memoir, Erika confronts the shock of her diagnosis of bipolar disorder and chronicles how, step by step, day by day, she walked herself to a place of stability and health. Containing wellness tips and coping strategies to live creatively, productively, and healthily with a mental illness, Sound Mind is a story of hope, healing, and transformation that reminds us that it is not only possible to function with a mental illness, it is possible to thrive. By promoting education, awareness and de-stigmatization of mental illness, Sound Mind helps write a new narrative around mental health and wellness.

The Bipolar Expeditionist describeswhat it is like to experience every levelof mania right up to the fully blownstage, as well as the depressingstagnating flipside. Far less stigmaand taboo are attached to illnesses ofthe mind these days, but that's still notgood enough, so these issues arealso addressed. This book enablesreaders of any level or age tocomprehend an often tricky subject ina way that isn't too heavy andoverpowering, but with just enoughmental glue to stick.The Bipolar Expeditionist is not only atrue story, it is an inspirational toolthat can be used by caregivers,sufferers and medical professionalsfor many years to come.Optimism oozes out of the pages,telling the bipolar beholder or theirloved ones that all is never lost. By thetime The Bipolar Expeditionist hasbeen read you will realise exactly whyyou will never be left alone to suffer. Despite the inevitable agonizing slog ahead you willalways past the toughest of tests, then go onto enjoy a fulfilling and productive life, perhaps a little more experienced and also capable of offering rock solid support and compassion to a fellow human being in dire straits.

Spiders, Vampires and Jail Keys is the captivating, very readable but painfully real account of Brooke O’Neill’s struggle with bipolar disorder. We follow her descent from intelligent, capable nurse, and caring mother and partner, to compulsory treatment, and then her rise to stability and health again. Her vivid and humorous retelling of events provides an insight into the often chaotic and despairing life of those suffering with mental illness.