My dad, Morris Chadwick "Chad" Gaffin, was an all-American kind of guy who was a devout Christian, a professional Scouter with the Boy Scouts of America, and an artillery officer with the US Army during the Cold War. He was a well-meaning and charismatic guy who unfortunately suffered from a mental illness known as bipolar disorder. Despite being diagnosed with this mental illness in the middle of his life, he refused to admit it and take the appropriate medicine. Unfortunately, his mental illness worsened with age, and he began to inadvertently destroy his relationships with people, which prevented him from fully accomplishing his ultimate goal in life of becoming a minister. Most of the bad things in Dad's life were done to himself, but he always saw himself as a victim of evil people out to destroy him. Despite the unflattering and embarrassing realities of his bipolar disorder, this book will fully examine his life and explain how our family dealt with his mental illness and difficult personality. It was sad to watch Dad's life slowly spiral downward into a personal hell as he became his own worst enemy, especially with his personal relationships and finances. For those who knew him best, he was ultimately loved and appreciated as a person who wanted to make a positive impact on the world. Maybe this book could give his life more meaning and serve as a cautionary tale for those with similar loved ones who refuse to seek help.

“A magnificent gift to those of us who love someone who has a mental illness…Earley has used his considerable skills to meticulously research why the mental health system is so profoundly broken.”—Bebe Moore Campbell, author of 72 Hour Hold Former Washington Post reporter Pete Earley had written extensively about the criminal justice system. But it was only when his own son—in the throes of a manic episode—broke into a neighbor's house that he learned what happens to mentally ill people who break a law. This is the Earley family's compelling story, a troubling look at bureaucratic apathy and the countless thousands who suffer confinement instead of care, brutal conditions instead of treatment, in the “revolving doors” between hospital and jail. With mass deinstitutionalization, large numbers of state mental patients are homeless or in jail-an experience little better than the horrors of a century ago. Earley takes us directly into that experience—and into that of a father and award-winning journalist trying to fight for a better way.

Give God a chance and gain a new hope in life! You have nothing to lose.

THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ON: SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER, GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER, OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER, AND POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER.

The Battle with an Enemy Called Bipolar: The Win Over Depression By: Rochelle D. Smith About the Book The Battle with an Enemy Called Bipolar: The Win Over Depression is the story of a woman’s lifelong battle with mental illness, as told from her daughter’s perspective. Weaving heart-wrenching personal stories with comprehensive medical research, Rochelle D. Smith creates a memoir that is at once deeply unique and highly relatable. Mental illness can feel overwhelming, destructive, and unending, but Smith shows that through love, understanding, and grace, one can learn to live with their mental illness and support their loved ones who may be struggling.

HELP IS HERE Bipolar disorder has recently been identified as one of the most misunderstood and underdiagnosed conditions affecting children -- and it is dramatically on the rise. The Ups and Downs of Raising a Bipolar Child gives parents the sound advice and expert information they need to cope with this challenging diagnosis, and shows how to provide essential care and support for a bipolar child as well as for the rest of the family.

The anti-Ali, Sonny Liston represents everything that is compelling and terrifying about boxing. An overwhelmingly powerful fighter, Liston rose from a desperately poor childhood to street criminal to world heavyweight champion. He then became the pawn of a series of criminal organizations and was shadowed throughout his life by government investigations, arrests, and the rumor of corruption. The Devil and Sonny Liston is not just the biography of a boxer; it is one of the greatest organized-crime stories ever told and confirms Toschess place as one of the most powerful and original writers of our time. Toschess acclaimed biography of Dean Martin, Dino, sold more than 110,000 copies From the rappers Wu-Tang Clan to writer Thom Jones, people are fascinated by Sonny Liston and by boxing in general. King of the World by David Remnick sold more than 100,000 copies. Tom Cruises Cruise/Wagner Productions is at work on a movie based on this book. A collection of Toschess best writing, The Nick Tosches Reader, is due out in 2000. Tosches is a contributing editor of Vanity Fair.