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Davida Adedjouma takes us for a surprising flight that alternates between exciting and painful experiences. In a moving account of bipolar disorder, the author describes her personal journey through the cycles of mood swings that almost cripple her. We witness the invasion of dark and ominous emotions, and her continuous struggle to evolve from their impact. It is a wonder to see Adedjouma take pride, as she should, in her relentless drive for recuperation and healing. She never gives up.
About 2.5% of the population suffers from bipolar disorder. Cyclical mood shifts, sometimes gradual and slow, drain energy and the ability to live productively and form secure relationships. In the roller-coaster ride that ensues, relentless optimism and happiness are followed by hopelessness and fatigue. Many well-known creative people have been described as having a bipolar condition—Hemingway, Dickens, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, to name just a few—and in the pages that follow, Adedjouma explores vulnerabilities and other struggles that result from these erratic mood swings, and her courage to persistently seek stable ground.
Clemens Loew, PhD, is co-founder and co-director, National Institute for the Psychotherapies (NIP), is in clinical practice in New York and New Jersey, is a supervisor and on the NIP faculty, and has published numerous books and articles on comparative psychotherapies.