We Heard the Angels of Madness: One Family's Struggle with Manic Depression

Diane Berger, whose son Mark was first afflicted with manic depression in college, offers a moving account of her family's efforts to understand and cope with his illness. Alternating chapters written by her sister Lisa ( Cashing In ) deliver valuable information on the multiple symptoms--hearing voices, hallucinations, violence and mood swings, among them--and treatment of this many-faceted, little-understood mental illness caused by ``a tangle of heredity, biology and environment.'' Victims often are mistaken for drug addicts. The sisters recall the ordeal of coping with the patient and with their own feelings of alienation and guilt; some of Mark's ravings and inner colloquies also are reproduced. Advice includes suggestions on how to choose institutions and medical professionals. Although incurable, manic depression may be kept at bay by medication and self-monitoring. Author tour. (Apr.)