Book Description

DescriptionThe mental health issue related to this book is bipolar disorder. This illness includes both ends of the spectrum, which is mania at the one end and clinical depression at the other. At its worst, it is debilitating, involving long stays in a psychiatric hospital in order for doctors to discover the appropriate medication thus balancing out the brain chemistry so that the patient can function in a reasonable manner in the outside world. I sincerely think bipolar disorder must be the most serious of the mental illnesses because it is so violently distressing for the patient., LOVE's MELODY, is a collection of poetry and pieces of prose taking us through the 1990's on a roller coaster of extreme mental highs and lows. This writing depicts the power of the human spirit to conquer the most impossible of situations in life and, I trust, give other sufferers of this dreadful disease some kind of hope. About the AuthorNatasha Wilde was born in Chester in 1949. After moving down south she attended St. Albans Girls' Grammar School where she obtained eight 'O' levels and two 'A' levels. She won a scholarship to St. Martin's School of Art in London, studying Graphic Design, specialising in Film Animation. When she was just half way through her Diploma course, she was offered a job with Halas and Bachelor animation company, the largest in the country. But alas, that never happened. She contracted bipolar disorder at the age of twenty always maintaining there was a strong possibility she had been "spiked" with the hallucinatory drug, L.S.D. She remembers experiencing a hellish and terrifying time, walking the streets of London, totally lost, hearing 'voices', hallucinating, all of her senses heightened. This episode landed her in a scary hospital in Friern Barnet which had been an asylum in Victorian times. Natasha was disposed of in a newer building for less serious cases. The hospital has since been closed down under Margaret Thatcher's orders, the poor occupants let loose, spilling out into the community to somehow make their way. Throughout her twenties Natasha was in and out of the local hospital where doctors experimented with various drugs and twice she received E.C.T. ie Electro Convulsive Therapy. She was fortunate in that this worked well, bringing her down from her impossible fantasy world bang smack into reality which was a trifle depressing. In between bouts of illness, the psychotic 'highs' and the clinical 'lows', she took on menial work and then decided to move up to Leeds with her current Yorkshire boyfriend. Here, she joined an agency and became self employed as an Exotic Dancer which she loved. No stigma was attached regarding her illness, no forms to fill in, no questions asked. She had a good figure and could move. She danced in clubs, pubs, working mens' clubs and sometimes, rather dicey, illegal drinking dens known as shabims. While living in Leeds, she met her husband to be who was originally from Scotand and although her 'demoms' were determined to drive her crazy again, looking back, she guesses her husband rather saved her from a fate "worse than death." She moved back to Hertfordshire two years later in the mid seventies and after another spell in hospital, joined several agencies and began dancing again. She married in 1980 and gave birth to a daughter in 1981. Her pregnancy was hell, mentally, and a major depression set in. Immediately after giving birth she became 'psychotic' and this was treated She was married for ten years, then divorced her husband on the grounds of 'unreasonable behaviour. During her marriage she had kept fairly well but the stress from the divorce encouraged her illness to return in its 'psychotic' form landing her bang smack on Warren Ward for the umpteenth time. Her book, Love's Melody, takes off from here. Much of it was written in Creative Writing Therapy at her local hospital. Natasha now has an adorable granddaughter and after many years, th