'Anna's Split Mind' by Farida Rahman Glory also known as Farida Haque, tells Anna's story starting from her childhood moving from England to live in Bangladesh. The sudden changes in environment impact her life and she has adjustmental problems. As she reaches adult life she is diagnosed to have bipolar disorder. She tells us about her weird experiences, the frustrations and about her constant battle living with bipolar disorder. Later on, she gradually learns to cope with the difficult and hostile situations in her bipolar life. She shares her experience with the reader and reveals what it's like on the inside. How the symptoms appear, the experiences of taking different sorts of medication and their impact on her life. She continues to talk about the different types of medication that she received for bipolar disorder. The problems associated with taking these medications and some of their serious side effects and also how to manage those side effects including tardive dyskinesia. Anna not only tries to give information about the medication and other truculent situations but she also tries to give a glimpse on practical life issues such as difficulty taking the medications and situations like forgetting to take medication and not even realising it. She talks about the things that every bipolar disorder person or someone caring for a diagnosed person should know in order to make their life easier. She discusses other mental health issues such as stress, anxiety and sleep disorders. She tells us how she coped with situations like forgetting to take medication, managing her spending spree, her forgetfulness - dementia. This book could be categorised as an informative fiction. It could also be aimed to educate teenagers and young adult readers about mental health issues. In fact, readers of any age could benefit from this book. Life can appear to be frustrating for some people newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Anna gives hope to the readers so that they can magnetise their strength and power to get life back on track again. By gaining adequate knowledge and acquiring self-management skills this disorder can be controlled. This book attempts to provide the information needed for a newly diagnosed bipolar person or carer to improve daily life.
