When Jerry Jewler turned 60, he celebrated his "coming of age" with a splashy party -- and a glorious high. The next day, he awoke to a hell he had never known: sad and depressed, unable to make even idle chatter with his houseguests, and angry at the world.
In Jewler's new stirring memoir "Climates of the Mind" (published by iUniverse), he traces his lifelong, undetected bipolar disorder to his beloved grandmother, who was not only the focus of his earliest days, but an often destructive force within his family. The revelation of his mental illness marked the beginning of therapy sessions and medications that continue to this day. In "Climates of the Mind," he ponders how his life might have been different - for better or worse - if not for his disorder. Throughout the narrative and his therapy journals, he gives readers an understanding of how mental illnesses - often undetected - can shape a life, and how many individuals with mental illnesses can find new hope with proper treatment and medication. "Without an understanding of mental illness, one can live through years of misery, guilt, and feelings of inferiority," Jewler says, and adds that mental illnesses are "no cause for shame and carry no baggage, unless those who have them are left untreated." Anyone with personal history or experience with a loved one with mental illness will find new understanding and hope by hearing the voice of one who feels the incredible suffering such disorders can produce. Jewler tells from experience that hiding a mental illness is not always smart, and that awareness and communication between family, friends, and health care professionals can help many who suffer from any number of mental disorders.
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