What does a person do when life suddenly changes-and not for the better? Phyllis Elliott didn't expect racing thoughts, lack of concentration, and sleep deprivation followed by extreme sluggishness. At forty-four, she planned to enter graduate school for social work when her life was upended by a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

With the everyday demands of life, family, and career, Elliott felt overwhelmed. One day she was a wife, mother, and student, and the next, a patient. Things that used to be effortless now took more energy than she could summon. In "Thriving on the Bipolar Roller...