Islands of Joy: THE LATE-NIGHT SCRIBBLINGS OF A MADMAN

Islands of Joy is a no holds barred, unflinching memoir which starts out when the author is in his late 20's and enjoys what seems to be an idyllic existence - a beautiful and loving wife, a baby girl, a nice house, good friends, and a fulfilling job. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, he suffers a severe psychotic break with hallucinations, delusions, and recurrent cycles of manic and depressive episodes. With relentless honesty, the author takes the reader along on his journey down a seemingly endless rabbit hole of despair, punctuated by destructive manic adventures and hospitalizations cycling with severe depression which leads to multiple unsuccessful suicide attempts. The end result is the tragic loss of numerous jobs as well as, eventually, his marriage. Finally, at rock bottom, he has an epiphany that leads him to a basic understanding that although he will definitely never be able to completely vanquish his inner demons, he can at least manage to mitigate their power over him. He then courageously begins the difficult job of repairing the relationships with his loving family and friends, all the while learning, as we all should, to appreciate and cherish the wonderful little joys and pleasures we are privileged to encounter every single day. Read more