Be There is a compelling, insightful, heart-wrenching, and sometimes hard-to-believe memoir about a younger sibling’s lived experience as a lifelong caregiver for her sister, Betsy. A brilliant, beautiful, creative, and funny Ivy League-educated woman, Betsy’s diagnosis of bipolar disorder in 1975 at age 21 altered a life that would have otherwise been productive and happy.

Anyone who has a family member, significant other, or friend suffering from bipolar illness can find confirmation that they did not cause, cannot control, or cure the illness, but they can cope (The Four Cs). This book offers the peace of mind and healing that come from understanding the illness.

There is a discussion, with scientific references, of the genetic link to mental illness and the many characteristics of bipolar disorder. Dr. Linsey Willis engages the reader through the sharing of photographs, historical documents, commentary about a state psychiatric hospital, Betsy’s graphic yet engaging, hopeful letters, and examples of her many disturbing bipolar behaviors and actions.

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Dr. Willis is President of L.J. CRAIG & Associates Inc., a management and organizational consulting firm, which is the culmination of 45 years of Human Resources and management experience. The firm specializes in the design and delivery of “People Management Systems” including but not limited to employee training, the design and administration of assessment centers, structured-behavioral interviews, written exams, organizational development, performance management systems, coaching for promotional testing and job analysis. The custom designed products are tailored to each organization’s culture and adhere to legally defensible principles. Her firm’s clients represent a diverse mix from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors in the U.S., the Caribbean, Thailand and Dubai, U.A.E.

She is the author of Mastering the Assessment Center Process. The Fast to Track to Promotion (2nd edition) (2021) and Developing Your Innate Abilities Experiencing Assessment Center Exercises (3rd edition) (2019) and (4th edition, January 2023 with title change….Harnessing Your…..).

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Bipolar Disorder Book – Be There My Lived Experience with My Sister’s Bipolar Disorder