I have Bipolar, Bipolar Isn’t Me by Wendy Taylor.
Anyone diagnosed with Bipolar will know that the hardest part is overcoming the uncertainty of what life will now be like. There’s a sense of loneliness that is present despite the constant increase in patients diagnosed with it. Wendy Taylor has used her experience of being diagnosed with Bipolar to produce a short and relatable book that, once finished, left me feeling like I knew where to start in my own road to recovery…again.
I will say that this does read as more of an over view than an in depth look into life with BP, Wendy briefly touches on a number of areas – from diagnosis to treatment and to the process of learning what works and doesn’t. Taylor does not rely solely on the traditional treatment of BP – namely medication and therapists – but includes such things as vitamins, minerals etc in the pursuit of stability, another area a lot of people do not always consider focusing on. It’s refreshing to receive a sort of ‘laymans’ guide to the illness and
I think this book would be beneficial to many others, not only those with Bipolar but family and friends of those affected too. There are points she discusses which, despite attending therapy and a clinic stay I’d never heard of, for example persecutory delusions, which for me reinforces the importance of literature focusing on BP from a more personalised area than on the clinical and scientific side that we are accustomed to.
I hope that Wendy continues to share her knowledge and experiences and perhaps looks at continuing with another book. Unfortunately, there is a fair amount of editing that is required, it does give a sense of being written in haste, almost as though there was an eagerness to get it to print that overwhelmed the need for polishing.
In closing, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Wendy for having the courage to share her story, and hope that this will reach many others as they work towards a happy and balanced life.
More Information:
Review Rating: 2.5 Stars (with editing this would have been a 3.5) Published By: Balboa Press Published Date: March 19, 2017 Genre: Biography / Memoir / Mental Health
