Thirty-two-year-old Rihanna Perry has the job, son, and husband of her dreams. But her world is torn apart when her husband leaves her for another woman. After the combination of the breakup and a major surgery, Rihanna’s mood changes from the way it used to be: she’s never been happier in her life. Soon she’s staying up all night, flirting with men and women (even at work), smoking weed, and starting writing projects she doesn’t finish. On top of everything else, Rihanna discovers that telepathy is real, and attempts to learn the skill of reading minds for the first time.<br><br>Rihanna won’t accept that her long ago diagnosis of bipolar disorder has come back to haunt her. After prompting by her best friend, Rihanna finally goes to the local mental hospital for help. She eventually accepts the fact that she’s been suffering from a manic episode. After being put on medication, she barely has a chance to recover from the mania when she’s thrown into the worst depression she’s ever experienced.<br><br>Medicine alone doesn’t help, so Rihanna must undergo electroconvulsive therapy and a six-month stay at the state mental hospital. Will she ever be stable again?

My Chemical Imbalance

Five days after I got out of the hospital,a September Friday morning,Jeremiah was spending the night at my mom’s.Nia,Andre,and Nate were gone.I’d been having suicidal thoughts,and paced the living room,thinking about“my train.”We lived close enough to some railroad tracks that I could hear trains whistle several times a day.I wondered if I could find out if there was a regular schedule.I wondered if I should just overdose.


I walked into the kitchen.Somehow with all my doctor visits and prescriptions I had ended up with two bottles of lithium.I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took the lithium bottles from the cabinet.One handful at a time,I gulped down the pills.


Just as I took the last swallow,Nia walked through the door.I grabbed the empty pill bottles and threw them in the trash,speed-walking to my room.


“Damn,Rihanna,what are you trippin’about?”


I shrugged,still feeling just fine,and stretched out on my bed.“I need to lie down;I have a headache.”


Chapter 15