Joy in the Mourning

In 1971, Claire Lieber experienced a break with reality. After a high school orchestra trip to Texas, Claire began a rapid decline into sleeplessness and mania that soon degraded into psychosis. Her doctor suspected that someone had slipped her some LSD. During a hospitalization complicated by the growing drug culture, Claire spent several days before the doctor gave her anything to quell the mania. As the medication began to work, the high became a low and the awful truth began to seep in around the edges.It soon became evident that Claire was battling a serious illness, then known as manic depression.

In a retelling of her personal story, Claire details the therapies, questionable medications, and nutrients that played an important role in guiding her down a challenging path through bipolar disorder to ultimately find wholeness. With candor and vulnerability, Claire reveals insight into the chain of events that unfolded after her diagnosis. She tells of the nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists and friends who  helped  her regain stability and achieve meaning. Claire explains how her relationship with Jesus  sustained her and provided her with strength as she battled the disease.

Joy in the Mourning is the true story of one woman’s seven year journey through bipolar disorder as she relied on her faith, inner strength, friends and dedicated health professionals to guide her on a path to a full life.