Where would the memoir be without bipolar writers? I mean, that's what - that whole oversharing thing is really a very clear symptom of bipolar disorder. And I'm not saying that every, you know, I'm not accusing every memoirist of being bipolar. But I think in a way it's kind of a gift.

My own husband was divorced when we met, but without kids. I don't know what I would have done if he'd had them. I got the message very early on that the worst mistake a woman can make is marrying a man with children.

The capacity for extravagant emotion that my husband finds so attractive in me can be exhausting, especially to a child. My moods are mercurial, and this can be terrifying. I know, because I was a daughter of a mother with a changeable temperament.

Here are my Mommy Messages: Wear a condom and test your Molly.

I was terrified of LSD. I don't want to get arrested.

As a parent, the only thing I am absolutely certain of is my own fallibility.

My father is sure that Israel keeps the Holocaust from happening again. I worry that it might hasten its recurrence.