Beyond the Tears and Laughter: Insights from a Manic Depressive (Revised, 2021) 73,000 words.

This memoir describes the balance of two major forces in my life: Manic Depression (Bipolar Disorder) and Creativity. It is somewhat chronological, but chapters on topics of anger, suicide, and being normal, for example, are interspersed.

I am probably a bit unusual: I'm always "behind the wheel" working towards some objective, which means I have been quite productive. And because of the extra intelligence and analytical capabilities that seem to accompany we who have BD, I have achieved success as many times as I have failed in a variety of fields.

The book is a tough read because there is no veil or filter between the reader and the written word. It's all there: glaring honesty with all the warts, unpleasant traits, and nasty actions.

This book, originally written in 2002, is the prelude to "Creativity for the Bipolar" The BEST of Adjunct Therapy," which I authored in 2021. It simply took me several decades to work out the kinks before I considered spreading the word of creativity to my fellow BDs.