This book is a mental health memoir that chronicles the author’s life with bipolar disorder, acute PTSD, and addiction. At the beginning of the book, Tim Davis (@tripolar.tj) shares the three areas of major struggle in his life: addiction and alcoholism, mental health issues, and maintaining a healthy weight. Tim looks back on traumatic childhood events from his dysfunctional family.  At age 13 his father died in a tragic accident falling off the balcony at their home, and Tim was blamed for his father’s death by his older brother.  That led him to begin self-medicating with drugs and alcohol, as his mother never sought therapy for any of her 7 children after that tragedy.

 Tim developed many addictions early on in life. His childhood struggles and penchant for addiction followed him into his adult life. At age 27, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after entering another drug and alcohol treatment program. As Tim received treatment for his mental health disorders, he began to build a healthy foundation for his life. He found solace for all three of his struggles after discovering that training for and competing in triathlons and ultramarathons are “an important outlet to help him manage a lot of the mania that goes with being bipolar.” 

Tim is still happily married for over 23 years now, with 3 children.  He has completed 15 Ironman triathlons, 1 double-ironman triathlon, 7 x 100-mile endurance runs, over 50 ultramarathons, and hundreds of other races. He has been a high school teacher and coach for over 20 years now. He races for his recovery and to model to others that they too can overcome whatever their issues are too.