Resilience in the Storm
by Risdon N. Slate

Over thirty-five years ago, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.  Since then, I have become a professor, trainer, writer, and inspirational speaker.  In all these roles, I have a mission: to combat the stigma surrounding mental illness.  Thus, I have advocated in the classroom, through training criminal justice practitioners, via publications, as a national member of the board of directors of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and by testimony before the U.S. Congress.  In addition, over the last ten years, I have written my memoir.  It contains the dark reality and hard truths about my life’s struggles.  I bare my soul to give others hope.