View from the Rollercoaster: Unsteady Essays & Bipolar Bylines

King Solomon said a cheerful heart is good medicine. So if you begin to operate on the assumption that the Bible is not just another dust magnet, an assumption that puts you at odds with most of the world and then you find out you're mentally ill, a fact that puts you at odds with yourself and the rest of the world, what are you going to do? Cry? Or figure it out?

In the life of a bipolar person, judgment is a matter of brain chemical roulette, emotions are not to be trusted and reason takes the last train home. Relationships rise and fall with the mood swings. It's a monster and Tracy Revalee has been battling it for decades.

If you get in the rollercoaster car with her you'll get to growl back at a dog, defy your ghosts and try to interview a pig. Like any good journalist, she asks the hard questions: Where did I get that car? What is the difference between hay and straw? Why am I avoiding the mall?

At the end of the day, even if you don't know all the answers, this book will point you toward a larger truth. That's what makes the journey, whether it's up, down or sideways, a joyful one.

If you or someone you know lives with mental illness, this scenery may be familiar: mania, job-hopping, broken relationships and breakdowns. In this book, dated chapters will guide the reader through a journey of time, place and experience to the healing shelter of a due by the sea. It's a non-linear trip.

The subtitle, Unsteady Essays and Bipolar Bylines, describes a structure that incluldes brief essays on a jewel of a neighborhood, a dangerous dog and a nameless pig. For starters. Employing song and narrative, the author is a peaceful guide for a bumpy ride.