Maricela Estrada was raised in East Los Angeles by her widowed traditional Mexican mother. The author felt depressed most of her life and missed having a father. Her first suicide attempt happened at age 14 and she survived multiple suicide attempts. After high school, Maricela had a psychotic episode and was admitted into a psychiatric hospital, where she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder with psychotic features. She felt stigmatized and was in denial about her mental illness. Accepting it was the hardest thing she has ever done. But once she accepted it, her life changed in a beautiful way, allowing her to accomplish all her goals and embrace a beautiful life. Maricela’s mental health recovery came through medication, therapy, attending support groups, prayer, emotional support from family and friends, and her emotional support dog, Gypsy Blue. Bipolar Girl is an inspiring story of one woman’s journey through mental health recovery. This memoir demonstrates the true meaning of hope, resiliency, and faith, and it will touch many people’s lives.

HELP IS HERE Bipolar disorder has recently been identified as one of the most misunderstood and underdiagnosed conditions affecting children -- and it is dramatically on the rise. The Ups and Downs of Raising a Bipolar Child gives parents the sound advice and expert information they need to cope with this challenging diagnosis, and shows how to provide essential care and support for a bipolar child as well as for the rest of the family.

The most practical and current resource for children and teens affected by bipolar disorder. A practicing psychiatrist specializing in bipolar disorder for nearly twenty years, Dr. Burgess has helped countless children and teens navigate the minefield of mania and depression and lead successful, happy lives. Drawing on the real questions asked by patients and parents and families of affected children, The Bipolar Handbook for Children, Teens, and Families tackles every area of the disorder: causes; medical treatment and psychotherapy; strategies for creating a healthy lifestyle; and preventing, coping with, and treating bipolar episodes. More than five hundred questions and answers address: - how to choose the right doctor or specialist for your child; - what treatment and medication protocols are best; and - how to reduce stress to prevent manic and depressive episodes. Special chapters on practical strategies for academic success, building healthy relationships, issues that specifically affect teens versus smaller children, and coping techniques for families and friends further explore the impact of the disorder on daily life. The Bipolar Handbook for Children, Teens, and Families also includes diagnostic criteria from the American Psychiatric Association and the National Institute of Mental Health, making this a versatile guide?perfect for both quick reference and in-depth study.

My memoir shares my story of what it's like to live, survive and eventually thrive with Bipolar 1 Disorder. Through my unique and creative approach of using poetry and prose, I take the reader with me on my journey full of pain, sorrows, losses, suicide attempts, homelessness, the ups and downs of bipolar and how I learned how to cope, reached recovery and became a bipolar survivor. My journey shows my strength and perseverance to overcome many obstacles and struggles and is full of hope, love, inspiration and my faith in God. My collection of poetry and prose express my pain, sorrow, courage, resiliency, inspiration and hope, all at the same time. Honestly and openly, I share my deep and most inner thoughts in a manner that lets the reader enter inside my mind showing what it's like to live with bipolar, which can be very sad, lonely and painful, but can also be a very positive life full of hope, love and the joy of living and survival. I hope my book will inspire and give hope to everyone that reads it.

"Contains material adapted from The Everything Parent's Guide Raising Girls, 2nd Edition by Erika V. Shearin Karres"--Title page verso.

Bipolar disorder is often misdiagnosed as depression in women or schizophrenia in men. This essential volume objectively and thoughtfully explores bipolar disorder. It provides a detailed description of the disorder and how it affects the body, as well as diagnosis and treatment. Readers will also hear from personal stories of what it is like to live with this disorder.

A New York Times Editors’ Choice and Best Book of the Year at TIME, Esquire, Amazon, Kirkus, and Electric Literature Jeannie Vanasco has had the same nightmare since she was a teenager. It is always about him: one of her closest high school friends, a boy named Mark. A boy who raped her. When her nightmares worsen, Jeannie decides—after fourteen years of silence—to reach out to Mark. He agrees to talk on the record and meet in person. Jeannie details her friendship with Mark before and after the assault, asking the brave and urgent question: Is it possible for a good person to commit a terrible act? Jeannie interviews Mark, exploring how rape has impacted his life as well as her own. Unflinching and courageous, Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was a Girl is part memoir, part true crime record, and part testament to the strength of female friendships—a recounting and reckoning that will inspire us to ask harder questions, push towards deeper understanding, and continue a necessary and long overdue conversation.

“Sean Carswell is a wonderful storyteller. . . . Reading his stuff makes you laugh and makes you think.”—Howard Zinn “[Carswell’s writing is] the antidote to what is so boring or safe or wrong with modern book publishing.”—Joe Meno, author of Hairstyles of the Damned Train Wreck Girl is the funny and tragic story of one man’s quest to figure out what to do with his life now that it’s too late for him to die young. After finding his girlfriend dead on the railroad tracks right after breaking up with her, Danny McGregor—Flagstaff bartender and surfer without an ocean—rides the next bus out of Arizona, fleeing to his Cocoa Beach, Florida, hometown, where a maelstrom of past ghosts await. Back in Florida, his treacherous friend, Bart, finds Danny a job picking up corpses. Sophie, a former crazy girlfriend who stabbed Danny, wants to rekindle their relationship. Taylor, a twelve-year-old neighborhood girl, only wants Danny to teach her to surf. And then there’s Helen, with a face that launched a dozen Greyhounds. Through the chaos, Danny discovers his strengths amid all his weaknesses and is able to move forward while making peace with his past. Sean Carswell is a former carpenter, housepainter, dishwasher, and warehouse clerk. His fiction has appeared in dozens of literary journals. He has been a staff writer for Flipside, Clamor, and Ink 19, and is a regular contributor to Razorcake. A co-founder of Gorsky Press, he is currently a professor at the University of California.

It’s My Life and I’ll Cry If I Want Too: The Diary of a Bipolar Woman is a riveting account of one woman’s journey through mental illness. It’s about the valleys that Kimberly Holmes endured and the mountains that she climbed in order to understand herself and her illness. Kimberly chronicles her tumultuous confrontations with death and heartening resolutions in finding the will to live. She recounts her relationships and there most chaotic outcomes. Kimberly writes openly about her promiscuity, drug abuse, criminal history, and insight into her battle with bipolar disorder—a mental disease that nearly destroyed her life. Kimberly’s personal account of her mental illness reveals a stark, realistic view of the disease so that her readers may understand its magnitude.