A unique and ambitious contribution to the annals of the memoir genre. It tells the story of a Washington, D.C. journalist-turned-lobbyist who disguises his bipolar disorder as well as his estrangement from his parents and heads out on a five-week cross-country U.S. road trip, engaging with creative and generous individuals who trigger in the author a yearning to pursue an authentic, art-committed life. To embrace that life, however, would require tremendous change. He would need to break with his funders, face down his fear of a bipolar spiral that might endanger his relationship with his wife and children, and come to terms with his family legacy of mental illness. The book's intricately woven narrative lines form a brutally honest self-portrait of fear, loss, and growth.