I have a daughter. She was active and happy until her father passed away. She started college at age 16 under a program in her high school, she worked tutoring kids, she volunteered for city events and orchestra events, and she would see her friends. She applied to another college at 17 that is hard to get into while he was in the hospital, and got her acceptance letter right after he passed away.

My daughter’s father/my husband was a genius, and I think my daughter is just like him. She is so bright, but her light went out after he paossed away. She doesn’t volunteer or work. She rarely sees her friends. She hasn’t done well in college (it has gotten better). She’s on medication for anxiety. She can’t sleep.

I didn’t find out about my mom’s diagnosis until I was pregnant. I just thought my mom had a raging temper (I don’t).

I didn’t have an inkling that I was bipolar until she was three (diet pills set off mania) and blew it off. I was just diagnosed definitively two years ago.

I am worried that my daughter may have inherited bipolar, but it is hard to say. My husband had an anxiety problem, and so does his brother and mother.

Anyway, I bought parenting books because I had no idea how to parent. My mom was extremely disfunctional and largely absent. I was a lock key child, and she disappeared for two years once right when I turned 13. Sometimes she left me with strangers, and I even lived alone (age 16-17) in high school (my parents split when I was three—I lived with my mother).

I think the parenting books really help. My daughter has never been spanked. I’m really proud of that.