Mental Illness and the Pursuit of Stability Across Three Generations

Abstract

SJ is married and a mother of three children. In this chapter, she talks about growing up with a father diagnosed with bipolar disorder who died by suicide when she was a child, and the onset of serious mental illness in her children and herself when she turned 43. SJ talks about the struggle of taking care of her children when she felt unstable herself, and gives suggestions to other parents coping with mental illness in their children.