SYNOPSIS

This story is about an ordinary woman, leading an ordinary life, who has had some very extra-ordinary things happen to her.

This story is about a woman who finds herself battling a very serious illness at a young age. That illness is depression. She finds various ways to cope before she succumbs to the medical system and takes anti-depressants.

This story is about one women's journey back to herself. Somehow, she got lost in the shuffle and had to find her way out. She got lost by trying to be the person she thought other people wanted her to be. She was trying to live her life through other people. By marrying at a young age, she didn't know who she was yet. By the time she realized she wasn't comfortable in her own skin she thought it was too late. Her doctor labeled her as having manic-depressive illness, also known as bipolar affective disorder. This mental illness can cause one to have violent mood swings where one goes from feelings of euphoria to the dark black hole of depression.

Once on an anti-depressant she searched and searched for the cause of her depression. Deep down in her heart she knew there had to be a reason for it. It wasn’t going to be easy to get out of the hole she had dug for herself. It took years and years of reading self-help books, talking to people and wondering why she wasn't happy inside and had these overwhelming feelings of sadness. After going on and off medications a few times she realized her illness had reached the point of no return. She would have it for life because she didn't face the demons early on. Things would never go back to the way they were before. Her life changed in ways she never saw coming.

She did have an inkling as to why she was depressed but wasn't yet ready to face it. Science kept saying a person has a chemical imbalance and that is why they get depressed. She never really bought into that theory. Her persistence and "never take no" for an attitude (by the way, which she inherited from her mother) is what made her get to where she is today. In the words of Marie on "Everybody Loves Raymond," "I don't give up; I don't give in and I don't take no for an answer."

Her qualifications for writing such a book are that she learned from the "school of hard knocks." She has no university or college degree; she just never gives up. Many books are written about mental illness but very few in the first person and the ones that have were written by experts in the field. "The everyday, common person can relate to this book because it doesn't use a lot of flashy words or terms that only people with a higher education can understand."

It has taken a lot of hard work and, perhaps even, some divine intervention, in order for her to get where she is now. She is thankful each and every day for the pure joy that she has in her heart now. She now looks forward to each and every day. Her life now has focus, direction and meaning.

Lynn Rae

Copyright Lynn Rae 2007