Birth of a New Brain: Healing from Postpartum Bipolar Disorder

Dyane Harwood

Jun 2020 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Randye Kaye

About this audiobook

After the birth of her baby triggers a manic maelstrom, Dyane Harwood struggles to survive the bewildering highs and crippling lows of her brain's turmoil. Birth of a New Brain vividly depicts her postpartum bipolar disorder, an unusual type of bipolar disorder and postpartum mood and anxiety disorder. During her childhood, Harwood grew up close to her father, a brilliant violinist in the Los Angeles Philharmonic who had bipolar disorder. She learned how bipolar disorder could ravage a family, but she never suspected that she'd become mentally ill-until her baby was born. Harwood wondered if mental health would always be out of her reach. From medications to electroconvulsive therapy, from "redwood forest baths" to bibliotherapy, she explored both traditional and unconventional methods of recovery-in-between harrowing psychiatric hospitalizations. Harwood reveals how she ultimately achieved a stable mood. She discovered that despite having a chronic mood disorder, a new, richer life is possible. Birth of a New Brain is the chronicle of one mother's perseverance, offering hope and grounded advice for those battling mental illness.

About the author

Dyane Harwood holds a BA in English and American literature from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and has been a freelance writer for two decades. In 2007, she was diagnosed with postpartum bipolar disorder. Harwood has been profiled in the Huffington Post about her postpartum mental health advocacy.

Randye Kaye is an accomplished voice talent, actress, singer, broadcaster, and author. She received a Listen-Up Award nomination and starred reviews for Ben Behind His Voices, which she also wrote, bringing together the various facets of her career.

Dr. Carol Henshaw is a former president of the International Marce Society for Perinatal Mental Health, a scientific society devoted to mental illness related to childbearing. Dr. Henshaw is the coauthor of The Modern Management of Perinatal Psychiatry, Perinatal Mental Health, and Screening for Perinatal Depression.