I didn't go crazy overnight, although that's how it felt and must have looked to anyone who'd been watching. In August of 2003 my mind finally succumbed to the bi-polar illness I had been fighting, hiding and desperately trying to ignore. The years that followed were filled with broken dreams and rearranged hopes. I've flirted with death, danced with mania and gambled with my sanity. In spite of all my baby steps to stability, my fireflies of madness raged on. This is a story of truth, struggle and managing my redefined life through the lens of my camera, paint from my brush and ink from my...

Although I had left the mental hospital declared "better," the only true word to describe my mental health was lost. I had lost my job, was struggling to change and was all around cranky at my situation. Furthermore, I knew deep down my madness wears "better" like a loose skirt, easily removed. The months that followed were uncomfortable at best, yet somehow I found my compass and my way back to my true self, madness included.