 B O O K R E V I E W S
What goes up...Surviving the manic episode of a loved one
by Judy Eron
Judy Eron was encouraged by her friends to publish her story in the hopes that other people would understand the mystery of mental illness. She had kept a journal, a diary, that was critical to her unfolding story.
Judy Eron is a psychotherapist and should know better! Yet, when mental illness hits close to home, Judy turns into jelly, paralyzed with fear just like us ordinary folks.
Ms Eron writes an incredible chronicle of one man's spiraling out of control and the effect of his ultimate sacrifice to the statistics of manic depression and suicide.
Judy documented in her journal the distracting, contradicting, paranoid behavior of her beloved husband and how it affected her own life. She is emotional and overcome with self blame.
Looking forward to a get-a-way destination, husband Jim forgot his medication dismissing it as unimportant and not worth the effort to drive three hours back home to retrieve his life-line. Little did he know the difficulties he would have as a result of the sudden drop in his of lithium levels in his blood.
The story unravels the threads of the erratic behavior of one who is very sick. It shows the frustration that friends, family and loved ones felt as they hoped someone had the right answers for "what to do with Jim."
Read this book if you dare. It is a raw look at mental illness, suicide and the devastating effects it has on those who care deeply.
Marj Haass, 11/25/06
 Detour: my bipolar road trip in 4D
by Lizzie Simon
A year after graduating from college, making $600 a week, Lizzie Simon was a producer of 40 concerts, a dozen theatrical productions, and one dance festival of over 15 choreographers. Lizzie Simon was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a teenager, and although totally involved and very successful in her work, she decides to take time off to make a "road trip" to "find other people like me and interview them....I want to demonstrate how it feels to be young and bipolar, and I want to show that people survive this illness and live full lives."
She meets Jan, who shares her ideas of making a successful life while staying on medication, because "After the three weeks of mania is over, you've got all of these little fires to put out. It looks like you're just having a great time, and you're feeling like you're having a great time. But once it's over, it's like what have I done, and who have I done it with? There's a lot of promiscuity that comes along with it."
Matt is another young man Lizzie meets who realizes how many young bipolar people have trouble deciding whether medication may take their vibrant highs away, leaving them nothing but an empty shell. "I would try and tell them that their personality is almost completely independent of the disease. The disease is not who you are; it's what you have to deal with. You can't really be who you are until you've dealt with it."
Sara agrees. "I don't mind being bipolar. I would mind if there was nothing to help me. But I think I'm a more interesting person for it."
It seems that Lizzie finds the most successful way to deal with bipolar disorder is first...to control it with medication, and then to find out as much as possible about it. It also helps to try to finish high school and then college, and as Jan, a disk jockey, notes: "I'm really lucky to be in a career that not only lets me be who I am. It uses those wild traits. If I had to sit behind a desk I wouldn't be able to do it." Of course support is a big help for every one, whether it comes in the form of a parent, friend, doctor, or group. Rachel, 16 at the time of her interview, tells what helped her survive. "If I didn't come from such a strong family, I don't know if I would have gotten through it." Drugs are a definite hazard. Lizzie has a great relationship with Nicholas along the way, but he is unable to keep away from drugs, and it looks like the relationship has no future due to his addiction.
Lizzie explains the title: " ...making my trip was a detour...one kind of detour: a path different from the normal but that lands you back on your original road. Another kind of detour happens when the road you turn onto moves you in such a way that you decide not to go back to the road on which you started...Experience changes you. Detours are important."
Ms Simon is now also a successful writer! She is a beacon shining brightly for those of us who have bipolar disorder or care for those who do. And although she is primarily interested in younger people like herself, and writes in a way which would appeal to most young people, she is also a great source of information for people who have no idea what bipolar disorder is. Her book is a very easy read; I could not put it down for starters. And I'm a grandmother!
But don't just take my word. Booklist, a highly-respected journal, says:
"Fast-paced, engrossing...inspiring and enjoyable, Detour will change misconceptions about bipolar disorder and is a must-read for anyone who is or who knows someone coping with mental illness."
My favorite quote from Detour: "People who dedicate themselves to personal growth do grow..."
E. Lugg, 7/9/05
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Wyoming
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