Bipolar Faith

A Black Woman's Journey with Depression and Faith

By: Monica A. Coleman, Thema Bryant-Davis - foreword

Narrated by: Machelle Williams

Overcome with mental anguish, Monica A. Coleman's great-grandfather had his two young sons pull the chair out from beneath him when he hanged himself. That noose remained tied to a rafter in the shed, where it hung above the heads of his eight children who played there for years to come.

As it had for generations before her, a heaviness hung over Monica throughout her young life. As an adult, this rising star in the academy saw career successes often fueled by the modulated highs of undiagnosed bipolar II disorder, as she hid deep depression that even her doctors skimmed past in disbelief. Serendipitous encounters with Black intellectuals like Henry Louis Gates Jr., Angela Davis, and Renita Weems were countered by long nights of stark loneliness. Only as Coleman began to face her illness was she able to live honestly and faithfully in the world. And in the process, she discovered a new and liberating vision of God.

Written in crackling prose, Monica's spiritual autobiography examines her long dance with trauma, depression, and the threat of death in light of the legacies of slavery, war, sharecropping, poverty, and alcoholism that masked her family history of mental illness for generations.

©2022 Broadleaf Books, an imprint of 1517 Media (P)2022 eChristian

Beautifully written and narrated

A story of the evolution of faith shaped by trauma that created one that is new and expansive and loving.

The struggle

I enjoyed listening to the book and how she details her struggle with depression and anxiety, sexual violence. It was very relatable for someone who has dealt with all of those issues now, and in the past. 

Sharing our life stories allows others to know they are not alone.

Such a courageous endeavor to share of one's self; life's ups and downs. Thank you for sharing your story Dr. Coleman. It was an honor and privilege to read.