A Sparkling Tornado
takes readers on one woman's journey through the whirlwind of living with bipolar disorder, tumbling from the bleak darkness of depression to the highs of mania. After surviving the first of several suicide attempts, Sandra takes us along as she travels through both extremes. Along the way, impulsive decisions like launching a quirky flowerpot painting business infuse humour into the turmoil.
From the rock bottom of hospitalizations and electric shock treatments, Sandra commits to therapy and medication, clawing her way toward healing through motherhood, a career in fitness, and divorce and remarriage. After 23 years of stability, her bipolar disorder rages again and she finds herself back in "grippy socks" on the Psych ward. Writing becomes part of her recovery, and with each word she finds healing and her way back to mental health.
is part memoir, part workbook. Each chapter concludes with an essential tool Sandra uses to maintain her stability, from Cognitive and Dialectic Behaviour Therapy strategies to exercises that will be helpful not just for those with bipolar but for anyone who wants to maintain good mental health.
Throughout her story, heavy topics are peppered with the occasional laugh. Because if we can't laugh, we might cry, and Sandra would rather you keep her book free of teardrops.