Ron & Me: The Epidemic Within

About this Book • Ron and Me: The Epidemic Within is an intimate narrative about two people faced with life-altering events related to bipolar depression. • In Part One: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road, Susan reveals the well-paved, yet jagged path that led to her own suicide attempt in the summer of 2003. • In Part Two: The Ebony and Ivory of Piano Keys, we understand how her test of fate led to a deep sense of purpose - both preceding and following the police shooting death of her friend Ron, an accomplished jazz pianist with bipolar disorder. • In this rare book of honesty, Susan speaks with moxie about her own foibles by using an uncomplicated approach to storytelling. In doing so she brings lifelong issues to the surface, while giving a much-needed voice to anyone who's ever contemplated, or succeeded at, taking his or her own life.

"Ron and Me: The Epidemic Within" is an intimate narrative about two people faced with life-altering events related to bipolar depression. In 'Part One: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road,' Susan reveals the well-paved, yet jagged path that led to her own suicide attempt in the summer of 2003. In 'Part Two: The Ebony and Ivory of Piano Keys,' Susan finds a deep sense of purpose—both preceding and following the police shooting death of her friend Ron, an accomplished jazz pianist with bipolar disorder. "Ron and Me" delves into the challenges of the mental health system as a whole and sheds light on how people struggle even when they ask for help. Mental illness permeates so many lives—including those who hide their battles on a daily basis. But there is purpose in depression, and we must embrace it in order to set it free! In this rare book of honesty, Susan speaks with moxie about her own foibles using a straightforward approach to storytelling. She expertly gives perspective to anyone who has ever contemplated suicide and provides a real, much-needed voice to those who have succeeded in taking their own lives.

As a Metro Detroit native, Susan spent much of her career in Los Angeles in the entertainment branding industry. But a bout with life-altering depression sent her back to her roots where she had to defeat what she learned was bipolar depression. Resisting familial suggestions to forgo her career and life's aspirations, she embraced her disease in all its glory and learned how to survive depressive states. While a career brand strategist and writer, "Ron and Me" is her first book, but not her last. She's currently working on "900 Days," a second memoir about coping with depression while finding peace as a leader, co-worker, divorcee, friend, and sister. She happily resides in what she calls her "little Montecito" in Birmingham, Michigan with her two dogs Violet and Nellie. You can learn more about her at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dogdayproduction/.