Memoir of a Journey with Mental Illness

M.S. Burke was only nineteen years old when she inexplicably tried to kill herself. It made no sense: She lived a privileged life of yacht clubs, tennis lessons, private schools, and summers in Canada. If you named it, she had it, including an incredible family-with three sisters she adored and two loving, supportive parents. Many years later, she still starts each day with the same question: "Will today be the day that I have another breakdown?" At least she was able to make sense of her feelings after being diagnosed with manic depression, and she shares how she's coped with the condition in this inspirational memoir. With one out of every four people suffering from some form of mental illness, one of the most critical lessons she learned is that if you want to achieve anything in life, you must overcome its stigma. From her diagnosis to her hospitalizations, she reveals how she's refused to let her affliction define what she can and cannot do with the support of family, friends, and psychiatric professionals in Memoir of A Journey with Mental Illness: Treading Water.