This is a book about my friend Tirena (pronounced “Ter ee’ nah”) Say-Chiavacci, who demonstrates with her life how anyone can recover from serious depression and psychosis and lead a happy, productive life. Tirena faced and overcame huge handicaps that could easily have destroyed her:

The first handicap was a chemical imbalance in her brain that scrambled her thinking and emotions so severely that it twice brought her to complete and utter catatonic breakdowns— curled up in a fetal position on the couch, unresponsive, unreachable—and eventually got her hospitalized for severe depression. Other social handicaps are discussed in more detail in the book.

In this book she tells you just how she recovered, how anybody can do it. What she did and what she’s made of are so fundamental to all of us, that her story is a lesson for us all. Knowing Tirena as a friend has been a tremendous lesson for me. I was raised in a normal, two-parent household and had no unusual brain chemistry that I’m aware of, but, like many people, I get in my own way, handicap myself, fail to take practical steps that I know will help me. Tirena’s honest sharing of what she has to do to be a high-functioning person in life has been an eye-opening experience for me. It’s taught me how to live and manage my own life.

But there’s more here than mere coping skills or the story of a turned-around life. Tirena is honest, funny, has her own unique observations and a sharp eye for detail. Plus she knows how to tell a good story—her own. As admirable as she is, Tirena will never be nominated for sainthood. She has her faults, as you’ll see in her very frank account of her life.

Wherever you are in life this book will give you hope and the coping methods and skills to make your life better and more satisfying.

Tom Shea, Editor