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

“Would you consider getting more ECT?”he asked.


“I don’t know.”I was instantly afraid.


“I was thinking we could do another round.It would be performed by Dr.Ross at the nearby hospital.After we go through this,we should be able to get you out of here quickly.”


I shoved my fear away.“I’ll do it.”If I lost my memory,at least I would only be forgetting about the mental hospital,and I’d be able to get out of here faster.


But I worried about my decision later in my room as I worked on my story.What if I became a vegetable?But then again,what if I decided not to do shock treatment,and that was the only cure?I wouldn’t know the future until it arrived.


Someone knocked at the door.I stopped writing and leaned over from my desk to open the door.


It was Lachelle,a patient who looked like she was in her fifties.She was black with short curly hair and always wore nice dresses.


“Hi,Rihanna,”she said.“Do you have any panties I could borrow?”


Chapter 18