I didn't want to talk to other students. Besides the fact that I reeked of cigarette smoke, they would know something was wrong with me. They would feel something from me, something wrong, and something terribly wrong. I was afraid they would see what I saw in the mirror.

Mental illness wreaks havoc in Margaret R. Crockett's emotional memoir, Falling in Endless Spirals.

Leaving for college after a charming childhood on her family's beef and dairy farm, Margaret experiences the usual mix of excitement and apprehension.

But shortly after arriving, her behavior inexplicably changes with the onset of chronic sleeplessness and compulsive behaviors that take over her every waking moment.

Buffeted in and out of employment, psychiatric wards, and jail, Margaret is finally driven to a half-hearted suicide attempt.

Her eventual diagnosis of bipolar disorder, however, is only the first step in an uphill battle that finds her facing both the discovery of a brain tumor and the diagnosis of breast cancer.

Follow Margaret's astonishing journey as she navigates her recovery while revealing the life-changing consequences of living with bipolar disorder.