The Dark Side of Innocence
Page 23
• National Institute of Mental Health (www.nimh.nih.gov)—the leading federal agency for research on mental illness and mood disorders
Acknowledgments
First, I must thank the extraordinary number of people who took the time and energy to write me about Manic, or to attend one of my speaking engagements. You can’t imagine what it felt like to come out of the darkness into such light. My heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you, and especially to the parents of bipolar children, who inspired this book.
My love and gratitude go out to the following people (in alphabetical order):
To Nancy Bacal, whose grace and wisdom have enriched my writing for so many years. She is more than a teacher; she is a docent to life. And to all the past and present members of her Wednesday afternoon and Monday night groups, who have listened so patiently to my pages and never once encouraged me to get a day job: Ann Bailey, Steve Brourman, Soo-Hyun Chung, Larry Downes, Stevie Ellison, James Fearnley, Juliet Green, Wes Hill, Kim Kowsky, Marilyn Levine, Maureen Miller, Linda Neal, Fawn Rogers, Adrienne Rosenthal, Paul Ryan, Janet Tamaro, Scott Warner. And a very special thank-you to my darlings Paul Mantee (my hero, who can’t be summed up in words) and Arnold Pomerantz, for showing me the wonders of a well-lived life.
To Lisa Doctor, my canny and generous Tuesday night teacher, who has been so instrumental in helping me learn how to balance the dreams and realities of the writing life. And to our Tuesday night clan, who have endured my lousy first drafts without wincing and given me great friendship and support in return: the talented Linzi Glass, Cyndi Greening, Terry Hoffmann, Jeremy Iacone, Helena Kriel, Robert Rotstein, John Whelpley, Robert Wolff.
To Sarah Durand, my beloved and insightful editor, who always treats me with such respect and consideration, and who was brave enough to let my “Pre-Raphaelite angel” description of her remain in the Introduction.
To Le Pain Quotidien’s Beverly Hills and Westwood branches, which allow me to scribble for hours on end over a single latte and a bowl of gazpacho and an order of five-grain bread. Thank you to all the waitstaff and managers, who have given me a home away from home.
To the brilliant and unsinkable Elyn Saks, with whom I’m writing my next book. She makes every Sunday morning at nine the brightest spot in my week.
To Dr. Harvey Sternbach, my steadfast psychopharmacologist, who has made an art form out of the science of medicating me, and who returns phone calls so quickly it makes my head spin.
To Dr. Geoffry White, my therapist for the past seventeen years, who has stood by me no matter what, no matter when. He is the essence of compassion, a genuine questioner who really wants to know the answers. Quite simply, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him.
To Lydia Wills, my strong-souled agent at Paradigm, the poster child for chic. Without her belief in me, I’d still be staring at a blank page or, worse yet, practicing law.
To the impossibly debonair John Wolff, who knows everything and cares anyway. He has given me so much—a lifetime of memories, and the truest gift of all: forgiveness.
To Robert Young, master coach and pilot and counselor, whose love and loyalty made it possible for me to survive the cruelest years. We have shared a great adventure, and I owe him more than I can ever say.
And thank you to the following people, who have helped me so much along the way: Chris Blake, Sarah Cantin and Judith Curr at Atria, Dr. Jeff Davis, Suzy Davis, my copy editor Jonathan Evans, Sherrill Martin, Dr. Joan Osder, Gavin Polone, Sharyn Rosenblum, Dr. Rita Resnick, Elizabeth Suti.
Finally, thank you to my forever beautiful mother, for her strength and courage and unstinting love; and to my father, who, somewhere, is eating all this up with a spoon.