"This is the story of an extraordinary boy with a brilliant mind, a heart of gold, and a tortured soul. It is the story of an illness, a fight to live, and a race against death.
I want to share the story, and the pain, the courage, the love, and what I learned in living through it. I want Nick's life to be not only a tender memory for us, but a gift to others. . . . I would like to offer people hope and the realities we lived with. I want to make a difference. My hope is that someone will be able to use what we learned, and save a life with it."—Danielle Steel
From the day he was born, Nick Traina was his mother's joy. By nineteen, he was dead. This is Danielle Steel's powerful, personal story of the son she lost and the lessons she learned during his courageous battle against darkness. Sharing tender, painful memories and Nick's remarkable journals, Steel brings us a haunting duet between a singular young man and the mother who loved him—and a harrowing portrait of a masked killer called manic depression, which afflicts between two and three million Americans.
At once a loving legacy and an unsparing depiction of a devastating illness, Danielle Steel's tribute to her lost son is a gift of life, hope, healing, and understanding to us all.

I was intrigued by this Danielle Steel book because it is nonfiction, definitely outside of her usual fare. It also had been praised by groups advocating for mentally ill citizens. This is the story of Steel's son Nick Traina, a young man who killed himself at 19 after struggling for years with manic depression. The book is extremely personal and quite sad—as you read, you get wrapped up in the boy's charm and talent; however you also know how it is going to end. The writing is straightforward and the book reads quickly, telling the story of Steel's struggle to get help for Nick and support for herself and her family. The book includes photos, writings by Nick, and guidance for others facing the same challenges. It presents many questions, including how can we help young people like Nick, what sort of support systems individuals and families need to keep their children safe, and, importantly, what do people do who don't have the financial means that Steel does? This book could also benefit young people as Steel does a good job telling the story from Nick's point of view as much as possible. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 1998, Dell/Delta, 306p, 24cm, illus, $12.95. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Sarah Applegate; Libn., River Ridge H.S., Lacey, WA, May 2000 (Vol. 34 No. 3)

Categories:

• Biographies & Memoirs
  • Memoirs