I recently completed Completely In Blue: Dispatches from the edge of insanity by Chris Curry. Most of you know that I am quite outspoken about my life as a bipolar. Chris Curry tells his story in a brutally honest way in this book. His is a story of drugs and alcohol and the mental psychosis that both the chemicals he purposely put in his body and the so called treatments of the time threw him in. He goes in to great detail about the things he put himself, his friends, and his family through. He holds no punches as he tells of his fast decline from sanity by somehow becoming a drug dealer just like that, his lack of sleep thanks to the drugs, his run in with law enforcement, his lock downs in mental hospitals, a couple of very unhealthy relationships and several violent episodes both by him and to him. As the book goes on, Chris Curry tells how his personal quest to sanity and desire for answers to his questions ignited a passion about mental health that lead him to a calling and career in the very field he tried for years to get away from: mental health. 

This book is very well written. Chris Curry has a wonderful way with words and with the ability to be both witty and brutally honest. His descriptions of both his attitude and the attitudes of those around him along with the descriptions of the atmosphere around him has you feeling the tension in the room at times. I was sucked into the book from the very first page. While many autobiographies tend to give a story that tends to lean one way or the other Chris Curry tells things in a way that you know it isn't one sided. He's honesty about the darker parts of his life is what makes this book so creditable. It's a great read for anyone dealing with drugs, alcohol, or just mental illness in general. It's more than another boring "I did drugs. I went crazy. I'm better now. Read my book." kind of book. You'll feel his pain at times. You'll hate him at times. You'll fear for him at times. Most of all, you'll learn from him. I'm happy to say he's winning his battle and helping others. He's also quite a musician. You can check out some of his work with his Bohemian Cove project. 

Happy Reading!