Be There: My Lived Experience with My Sister’s Bipolar Disorder

Be There is a compelling, insightful, heart-wrenching, and sometimes hard-to-believe memoir about a younger sibling’s lived experience as a lifelong caregiver for her sister, Betsy. A brilliant, beautiful, creative, and funny Ivy League-educated woman, Betsy’s diagnosis of bipolar disorder in 1975 at age 21 altered a life that would have otherwise been productive and happy.

Anyone who has a family member, significant other, or friend suffering from bipolar illness can find confirmation that they did not cause, cannot control, or cure the illness, but they can cope (The Four Cs). This book offers the peace of mind and healing that come from understanding the illness.

There is a discussion, with scientific references, of the genetic link to mental illness and the many characteristics of bipolar disorder. Dr. Linsey Willis engages the reader through the sharing of photographs, historical documents, commentary about a state psychiatric hospital, Betsy’s graphic yet engaging, hopeful letters, and examples of her many disturbing bipolar behaviors and actions.