I'm going to be 58, and I'm a woman. In this business, that seems to be a bigger crime than being mentally ill

I know that without treatment I would not have never been able to harness my creativity in such a successful way.

I knew from a very young age that there was something very wrong with me

Women who put on a few pounds after starting lithium sometimes say the cure is worse than the disease. The weight gain shoots them straight into depression.

If I have any message for others, it is to go for help early and not to be a resistant patient

I still have highs and lows, just like any other person. What's missing is the lack of control over the super highs, which became destructive, and the super lows, which are immediately destructive.

I'm living out a childhood fantasy. Our house is in a historic district of a small town that I used to read about in storybooks