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5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must-Read-Very Realistic, Jan 5 2002
I've been looking for this book for a long time, having read it several years ago when I really needed to know I was not alone. The excellant format of personal experience balanced with factual medical information was extremely helpful, especially as it traces each step in the process from diagnosis to ultimately living with the disease of manic-depression - both for family and the "diagnosee".
Having been diagnosed myself in 1978, long before bi-polar disorder became a household word, this was one of the few books to actually combine personal experience, familial perspective, and medical fact in a very readable book. It had me from the first incident of throwing a microwave through a plate glass window, then sitting down and waiting for the police to arrive. (In my view a definite cry for help!) This book also gave me a parental perspective, thereby helping me to forgive my parents for the reactions they had and the actions they took in a time when there was little or no information available to them on manic-depression and it's manifestations. In addition, I was able to label some of my own thinking, (I came across the term "echolalia" for the first time) and discover elements of my actions actually were part of the disease, and not just my own "weirdness".
The thing I like best about this book today is that it is written by someone in the common walk of life. I have read Kay Jamison and Patty Duke, and have great respect for their contributions to the understanding of manic-depression/bi-polar disorder. I also own Mary Ann Copeland's books. But the Bergers are everyday people, and the biggest impact of their book (for me) is the hope inherent in their story: that despite the system, frustration and fear, love surmounts and life goes on. Considering that Bi-Polar disorder has become the diagnosis of the decade, and the research that indicates the hereditary elements of manic-depression, I am glad to find this book again, so that I can be helpful to my daughters, should the need arise. Definitely a "must-read" for anyone in the field of mental health, as well as anyone who knows anyone who has this disease.
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