When Charise Jewell decided to leave her career as a robotics engineer to pursue writing fiction, the 40-year old mother of three had no idea that she was embarking on a real life story beyond her wildest imagination. Without warning, and while preparing to celebrate Mother's Day 2017, she rapidly descended into a severe mania, was hospitalized, and was given a devastating diagnosis: bipolar 1 mood disorder. Over the following three years, Charise and her family would experience the ups and downs of not only her manic depression, but also of the mental health care system, and the way the society at large treats people with mental illness. Crazy: Memoir of a Mom Gone Mad is a captivating, heart-breaking and ultimately inspiring journey through the pain and beauty of sanity, and insanity.

Have you ever had a big problem? These kids have big problems. Sam's mother was just diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Sam feels helpless and overwhelmed. Oliver's grandmother died two months ago. She was his best friend and the only person who understood his anxiety. Margaret is a dancer with an eating disorder. Her dad left when she was a baby-it still hurts. Joel sees strange things he can't explain. Some people think he has a mental illness but he's not convinced. Sam, Oliver, Margaret, and Joel just want to feel loved and accepted. They just want to feel Normal. But the more time passes, the more their problems are ruining their lives. Will they always feel this lonely and confused? AUTHOR: A voracious reader and aspiring writer since childhood, Charise Jewell was born in South Africa and immigrated to Canada when she was seven years old. She holds an Honours B.Eng. in mechanical engineering from McGill University, and worked as a robotics engineer for fifteen years before becoming a writer. Charise is the author of Crazy, Memoir of a Mom Gone Mad. She proudly lives with bipolar disorder and educates for the fair and dignified treatment of the mentally ill.