Some of the problems life hurls to us are so complicated and
overwhelming that they are hard for our closest friends and family to understand.
When those problems affect our children, it leaves parents feeling particularly
vulnerable and alone.
Such was the case for the Janice Bonis and her husband who couldn’t
figure out how to help their son, Michael. There was no shortage of well-meaning,
but ill-advised advice, from those around them. Some told them to be more
lenient; others told them to be more strict...
Michael’s mom only found answers and learned how to ask the
right questions when she reached out to new friends in an internet chat room
sponsored by the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation. She finally found
people who had been there, having experienced similar problems in their own families.
The forthright and courageous story of this family, which I
had the privilege of writing, What’s Happening to Our Son?, appears in the
October 2007 issue of Reader’s Digest.
by Irene S. Levine, PhD