"Have you lost friends due to your mental illness?  I know I have few friends left myself.  This wonderfully touching book is about friendship.  A friendship spanning an ocean.  Both people living in different countries but yet have such an incredible bond. 

   Fran has Bipolar Disorder, Fibromyalgia, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Martin is always there for her.  Either by  way of Skype, text message or by phone.  They even met once in person!

   What I really respected  about this friendship is that Martin treats Fran like a friend first.  When Fran is symptomatic, Martin, who is part of her support team, steps in with gentle reminders or words of encouragement so Fran doesn't totally rely on his which allows her to gain independence.

   I thoroughly enjoyed "High Tide Low Tide:  A Caring Friend's Guide to Bipolar Disorder"  because of the many comical conversations between Fran and Martin; just like two "normal" friends would have and so it should be!

   

   A wonderfully written novella describing the benefits of healing at a mental wellness farm.

   James Townsend, the author of "Moving to Oregon:  A Bipolar Journey", begins his story when he was a melancholy child.  Growing up he manages his mood and maintains a select group of friends and good grades.

   The crash in James' life occurs when he receives a very disappointing call from the university.  This call put him in a tailspin of deep depression and mania.

   After a couple of hospital stays, James is released and heads to Oregon to heal at a working farm.  The daily routine and healthy lifestyle, in addition to the group therapy and individual sessions with his therapist, James was ready to begin his new life.

   I rated this book a 5 star as the  way James Townsend wrote the book I could visualize being a the farm with him.

​      A man with mania.   An exhausted mother. Who saves whom?

      A family deals with a member who is on auto-destruct.
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    Libby Riconda grew up in a loving home.  A Pastor’s daughter and home-schooled, with her two brothers, by her mother.

​   This novella, “The Flight of the Bumblebee”, by Catherine Neish is a narrative story based on the author’s lived experience with a severe mental illness, Bipolar Disorder.

​  Amy Gamble, the author, had it all; she worked for a large pharmaceutical company, had many friends, a loving supportive family, and was an Olympic basketball player.

​   Mental illness was no stranger in Tom Roberts’ lineage.  Tom, at an early age, was exposed to domestic abuse, substance abuse, and suicides.

   “The Black Dawg:  An Illustrated Poem About Depression and Hope”, by Louis McIntosh and Kathryn Hockey reflects the moods and symptoms of one who struggles with depression.
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​   “Being Greene” is a documentary about a family's fight with mental illnesses.  The camera follows the lives of four members, three of whom have different mental illnesses.