Perspective

This book is written by two separate writers, therefore it has two perspectives. The first author is Patty Duke. Patty Duke is an actress who was diagnosed with manic depressive illness. Patty Duke offers the reader her experiences with the disease, describing some of the manic episodes she suffered in her late teens and twenties, as well as the debilitating depressions she suffered throughout her young adulthood until her diagnosis at thirty-five. Patty Duke also offers a patient's perspective as she learned the name and nature of her illness and began treatment. Patty Duke's experiences are not typical, as she experienced almost immediate results from the lithium treatment and also underwent psychotherapy, a process that is not normally considered helpful with manic depressive illness because it is a chemical imbalance, not an emotional issue. These experiences are offered in order to help patients see how one person dealt...