Bliss + Blues = Bipolar by Jason Park

A Memoir of My Ups and Downs Living with Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a medical condition that adversely inflates a person's emotional ups and downs. The author was diagnosed with it after attending Harvard, and spent over two decades battling it. A Ph.D. and engagement only complicated things. The most harrowing part was leaving his job in Hong Kong, in pajamas in first-class, screaming like a banshee, barred from entering Canada, to arrive by way of New York City into Pittsburgh, where he berated his fiancée, partied with strangers, and was confined to a locked facility. But he never accepted defeat, and he ultimately found the treatment team, family support, and community engagement to achieve recovery.

In addition to recording the hero's journey, the author penned an afterword for those seeking guidance in their own road to recovery. He also includes a transcript of a public address he gave to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health citing what might work for other police and mental health departments when contacting individuals who are emotionally distraught. The appendix contains backgrounders from his parents, psychologist and psychiatrist for those seeking a deeper understanding of this darkly glamorous illness.