Years ago I had the honor of meeting Robin. He was a brilliantly talented man with a genius mind and a soul of pure gold. I remember looking into his eyes and I knew, without any doubt, that he was struggling with mental illness - and that that illness was most likely bipolar disorder. Robin Williams' death is heart wrenching. The world has lost a great inspiration.

To see a man with monumental talent, a father of three children, and an enormous amount of money, living in the gorgeous community that Tiburon, Calif is - and to know he chose suicide infuriates me. I am not angry at Robin Williams. I have only compassion for him. I am angry because with all the psychiatric medications and treatments available the human community still loses great people to mental illness. Surely researchers can do better in finding real, sustaining help for those of us who battle mental illness.