About the Author Mickie R. Singer is a writer, teacher, artist, storyteller and poet, depending on her mood or the angle of the sun. Haunted by a lifetime awareness that there was "something wrong," she was over forty before her multiple mental illnesses were diagnosed. With Bi-Polar, Panic, Anxiety, Attention Deficit, Obsessive Compulsive and the more recently acquired Adjustment Disorder, she sometimes has limited ability to cope. Description But in spite - and because - of these conditions, Mickie has lived a full, intriguing and often fun-filled life. She is an eccentric and humorous person who enjoys the adventures of living even though the ravages of mental illness are a constant threat and have, at times, shut her down. This book is an account of all her experiences - some amazing, some amusing and some disastrous. A former education director for the Mental Health Association of York County, Pennsylvania, the daughter of a mentally ill mother and an active mental health advocate, she is both personally and professionally knowledgable about the nature of mental illness. To affirm that a mentally ill individual can keep their spirit even when "the black hole yawns" is the inspiring intention of her book; to speak out against the stigma surrounding mental illness is her lifetime goal.