Manic highs and crushing lows set the stage for perilous choices, devastating despair, and an elusive quest for balance. My journey begins at college graduation and unfolds over the next fifteen years, framed through the lens of four turbulent romantic relationships. As each love story ignites in seduction and implodes in disillusionment, readers are drawn deeper into the chaos and beauty of a life lived at the mercy of undiagnosed bipolar I disorder.

First, an entanglement with Marco, a married restaurant owner tied to the Italian Mafia; then Jim, a drug addict turned cancer patient to whom I said ‘I Do;’ third, Luke, whose boyish baby blues gave me everything I desired (including baby Lily); and finally Patrick, the undeniable villain of my story.

Unflinchingly honest, TAINTED LOVE is a transformative account of one woman’s descent into chaos. It explores the brutal complexities of the human mind and the perilous beauty of loving through madness. In the end, the noise fades, the mask is lifted, and something far more radical is discovered: untainted love.

TAINTED LOVE will captivate fans of Susanna Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted, who are drawn to stories where mental illness and identity collide; Laura McKowen’s We Are The Luckiest, a portrait of single motherhood and failed love; and Alex Heller’s film The Year Between, which captures the messy reality of bipolar disorder.

Invisible to most, bipolar disorder directly affects 7 million Americans and 46 million worldwide. Through my writing, I remain committed to inspiring others through my mission to ‘create survival guides from our collective stories.’