Manic a woman in pain, a life in chaos, the courage to fight a secret madness Terri Cheney.

Originally published: New York : William Morrow, 2008.

On the outside, Terri Cheney was a successful, attractive Beverly Hills entertainment lawyer. But behind her seemingly flawless faðcade lay a dangerous secret--for most of her life Cheney had been battling bipolar disorder and concealing a pharmacy's worth of prescriptions meant to make her "normal." Cheney describes her roller-coaster life with shocking honesty--from glamorous parties to a night in jail; from flying fourteen kites off the edge of a cliff in a thunderstorm to crying beneath her office desk; from electroshock therapy to a suicide attempt fueled by tequila and prescription painkillers. The events unfold episodically, from mood to mood, the way she lived and remembers life. In this way the reader is able to viscerally experience the incredible speeding highs of mania and the crushing blows of depression. This book does not simply explain bipolar disorder--it takes us in its grasp and does not let go.--From publisher description.