Customer Reviews

Writing Out the Storm: Journal Musings of a Manic-Depressive Wanderer

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Rebecca, I can't tell you how much insight I've gained through your beautiful, genuine, poetic words into the state of mind of family members and friends who suffer from mental illness. For many years, sufferers have gravitated to me because they seem to sense that I understand their plight and have compassion for them, having grown up in a family afflicted with a range of chemical imbalances.

Often, I've been deeply wounded by the words and choices that those closest to me who are operating from various platforms of mental distress have leveled at me. But, after reading your book which so eloquently and precisely states and chronicles your mood swings and behavioral variances, I now better realize how insignificant my external role has been in evoking negative responses from affected loved ones. What a relief for me, as one standing on the outside of this illness looking in, to discover through your account how the internal chemical triggers work in determining the subsequent behavior. From your revealing journal entries, I could clearly discern that your choices were chemically, not morally determined or driven. Also, what a comfort it was for me to hear you speak lovingly about those in your life, such as your husband and mother, who have been stable and loyal advocates during your recovery. I am greatly impressed with the virtues of strength, honesty, wisdom, compassion, and abiding faith you have skillfully woven throughout the pages of your compelling narrative.

Please know that whether or not your book becomes a best seller, you have lit a torch from the baptismal fires of your own crucible that casts an illuminating brilliance on a shadowy subject for all of us whose lives are directly or indirectly affected by chemical imbalance. Thank-you from the bottom of my heart for your inspiring, precious, and heroic gift, Rebecca, and may you, like the sturdy red and yellow spring tulips mentioned in your book, always stay firmly rooted in the solidity, richness, and wellness of your sacred middle ground.

God Bless,
Stephanie McIntosh