To: Die Before You Die

I was born in rural Arkansas, the seventh child of a family of thirteen children, and after enduring an abusive, and poverty-stricken childhood, 
my family made its way to California where I would graduate from college.

I would eventually return to the south and become an attorney in Atlanta, Georgia. However, like most of my siblings, I suffer from a mental 
illness that had long lurked within the shadows of my life, and which I had unknowingly been able to cope with for years. Nevertheless, my 
illness would eventually overtake me, and destroy everything that I had been able to accomplish, and nearly take my life.

I am presently learning to cope with my illness in hopes of returning to my life as an attorney some day. As part of my efforts to understand 
what I experienced, I began writing about it, and my writings evolved into the book you’re holding.

It is my hope that my story will give you a direct insight into my battles with bi-polar and severe depression, and leave you with a better 
understanding of mental illness, and those afflicted by it.

This is my story, and although I have changed the names of a few of the individuals to protect their privacy, it is a true and accurate account 
of my experiences.