His Bright Light : The Story of Nick Traina

Rating:
Summary: Required for anyone who loves someone with mental illness
Review: I've never read any of Danielle Steele's fictional novels, but I flew through this account of the life of her son, Nick Traina. His struggles with Bipolar Disorder, and her heartbreak are heartwrenching, but as the mother of a child who lives in the same tortured world, I am inspired by the strength of Nick's dreams, his family's love, and his mother's creativity in her unending search for appropriate resources. This book is filled with personal letters, poems, and song lyrics. There are lots of photographs of Nick and his family punctuating many of the chapters. This is an intimate book. Ms. Steele has opened her heart here, even though it was probably painful. She says in the forward that one of her reasons for writing this book was that she hoped she could educate people about this often-fatal mental illness. That was certainly a worthy goal, and this is the only book I've seen which deals with the trials of Bipolar Disorder in CHILDHOOD. She's managed something else, in my case, however. The Story of Nick Traina made me feel that, if Danielle Steel could survive her son's white-hot dance with life, so can I face whatever years lie ahead for my daughter and our family. It wouldn't matter if this book were poorly written, which I don't believe it is; this is an inspiring, diary-honest, easy-read. It's full of practical, creative suggestions for living with a mentally-ill child. It's about remembering to look for rainbows after devastating storms. It's an unforgettable eulogy of a beautiful young man. It's a book every teacher, minister,medical professional, and library should own.

Rating:
Summary: The most heartbreaking book I've read!
Review: For anyone to open up to the world, their family's heartbreak and anguish is a feat in itself. This incredibly moving true-life story recounting Ms. Steele's daily struggle to keep her son alive reduced me to tears 4 times while reading. It educated me about the seriousness of manic-depression and educated me on a subject that I didn't clearly understand before. My admiration for Ms. Steele after reading this book is immense. If my feelings of overwhelming sadness are just a fraction of how she and her family felt and feel after Nick's death, I can only give her a standing ovation for her constant, daily uphill battle and her ongoing positive attitude and her acute awareness towards the rest of her family, while she strived so very hard to help her son, who was fighting a losing battle. I don't think anyone can fully understand the emotions that Ms. Steele, her family and closest friends (mainly Julie and her family)endured while trying to help Nick. Ms. Steele opens up her heart to the reader in an open and honest way that when I'd finished reading the book, I felt as though I knew each character personally. Congratulations to Ms. Steele for having the courage to share this story with the world - my admiration is immense. And to quote one of the many condolence letters that was received after Nick's death: "we will think of him as someone who lived, not as someone who died".

Rating:
Summary: Very stimulating
Review: I read this book about five years ago and I still think about it and some of the things that happened in it. I am bipolar and do not have people that I can talk about it with and sometimes I think I am totally crazy for some of the feelings and thoughts I have. Reading this book helped me to see that I am not alone, that others with the illness have the same actions. I also feel for his entire family because I know what I have put mine through. I was around 30 when I started having bipolar episodes and I have lived with it for 10 years. I hope they find a cure some day so we can all be free.

Rating:
Summary: the truth about bipolar disease
Review: it took me a few days to finish the book, for one thing, I was afraid of what I might dicover about being manic depressive because I got this nasty feeling that I am but maybe not as worst as the condition of Nick. I think the book would be a great help for people like me, coz somehow in the words of her beloved mom, you''ll have an idea how painful would it be for your loved ones to be left and wonder why on earth can't you help yourself. I just wish that I'll always remember this book, I wish every person on earth would take time to read this. Life is a struggle and we have to face the fact that it is inevitable to feel so much pain, pain that you can't even imagine you can handle, but that's life has to offer. And for Nick, I think he's a great guy and really really funny. I just wish he had learn to hold on. I adore Danielle Steel for everything she had done and Julie, and I'd like to thank D.S. for writing this book. I think those people who have lived with Nick and known him are one of the luckiest persons on earth because they got to live with someone like him.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I have read in many years!
Review: His Bright Light is a truly moving story written by Danielle Steel. It is direct and honest, even about situations that some would try to hide or modify, and it is thorough, because Ms. Steel left nothing out. It is powerful because her passion for her son and for wanting to help others, in spite of her grief, is evident throughout the book. --- My daughter, Arlyn, died of suicide on August 7, 1996, about a year before Nick did, so I read this book warily. After all, Danielle Steel is a celebrity and a professional writer with a zillion novels to her credit. What could she say to me, an 'average' mother?--- I was surprised to discover that Nick and Arlyn have much in common, even though their lives were very different. I was also surprised to discover that Ms. Steel's fame and money and connections helped her get the best care for Nick available, but it still was not enough to save his life. Finally, I was surprised that I felt so connected to Ms. Steel on a personal level, even though I am sure we will never meet. --- These revelations have been invaluable in helping me deal with my daughter's death. Through details of Nick's life, I now understand my daughter better, her life and her death. --- After reading of Ms. Steel's efforts to save her son, I now understand better what our counselor meant when he told us that we probably could not have saved Arlyn, even if we had gotten the best help available for her. This is a great help to a grieving parent. --- Finally, this book seemed to be written just for me, from one mother to another. Ms. Steel's personal way of writing and relating the events of her life was remarkable. --- I am truly grateful for Ms. Steel for writing this book, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about how you are affected by suicide, death of a child, grief, or mental illnesses, especially bipolar disorder. --- I also recommend it to anyone else, because reading of the pain and suffering of others helps us develop compassion, and we need much more of that in our world today. --- Neither Nick Traina nor Arlyn Beal received the compassion they deserved as they suffered, so we have to hope for a better world tomorrow, and this book may help bring it about.--- Karyl Chastain Beal [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: My 1st Danielle Steel Book...Ever.
Review: I admit it. I've never read a Danielle Steel book. I've never been interested enough, although I know many people who rave about her. Her stories just aren't necessarily my "cup of tea." However, I was highly recommended this true-story book about her son's life by a friend of mine, so I decided to give it a try.

I got to experience DS's flair for writing and its conversational style. It was very easy to read and held my interest. Pages flowed into the next. I can see her widespread appeal.

Not only was the story sad yet uplifting, but "His Bright Light" helped me to understand manic depressive behavior intimately as DS learned it herself over the years. It was quite the lesson in psychology for those who don't want to get bogged down with or can't quite grasp the technical or scientific aspects of it.

I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to know more about the disease, her son's life, as well as DS's life. She provides some great autobiographical material for those interested. It's a quick read, and it'll be worth the effort, especially if you know someone with similar challenges in their own life...

Rating:
Summary: His Bright Light
Review: This book is a true story written by Danielle Steel portraying the life of her son Nick Traina who was diagnosed with manic depression and committed suicide at the age of 19 yrs. Danielle Steel, a picture of beauty and strength, writes very candidly about the struggles she endured in raising him amidst a large family and a busy schedule. The book tends to be somewhat graphic, a little morbid, but might be very helpful for parents who struggle with difficult children or those suffering from mental illness in their lives. I appreciate Danielle Steel as an author even more after reading this book because of her willingness to share her true feelings and pain.

Rating:
Summary: Very Touching, But Flawed
Review: This is a very sad, very touching story about the suicide of the son of the author. Although the book is worth reading, I couldn't help noticing that Danielle Steel really isn't a very good writer; in fact, her son was more talented in that area. The author seemingly can't get through a paragraph without a sentence fragment. That doesn't ruin the book, if only because she has such a moving story to tell. Truth is, the story is so moving, the flaws don't matter much at all.

Rating:
Summary: touching suicide story
Review: This well-written story shares the experiences of one family with a Bipolar young man who ultimately commits suicide. Although interesting, most parents cannot afford full-time bodyguards for their child,nor some of the other interventions that the wealthy and famous author could--even though they didn't work. While this is a touching story, it can be somewhat depressing for parents struggling to find ways to prevent their child from becoming suicidal. Other resources can provide more practical advice that helps parents successfully handle the daily challenges of parenting a bipolar child.

--Sheryl Gurrentz, author
"If Your Child is Bipolar: A Parent-to-Parent Guide to Living With and Love a Bipolar Child"

Rating:
Summary: Good book - but a very biased truth
Review: If you're a manic depressive or a parent of a manic depressive - don't read this book for advice. You might relate, but it won't help you. The fact is that being a manic depressive makes you VERY susceptible to any kind of addiction. Did Nick commit suicide? Maybe - or he just died of an overdose without meaning to. I'm a manic depressive, and can relate to what he was going through. I do however disagree with what his mother thinks the causes of his problems were. My medical symptoms are remarkably similar to Nick's, yet my upbringing was a lot different. The second of five children, there were very few times when my parents could make ends meet. My father was a boilermaker, but due to an accident at a site he was working on, he became disabled. This left a lot of responsibility not only on my oldest sister's shoulders, but on mine as well when she left to go to boarding school. My mom always insisted that there was nothing wrong with me, with the school noticing my lack of impulse control etc. instead and sending me to the school shrinks. Her denial that I had problems even went so far, that when my eyesight became too bad to see on the blackboard, my teacher took matters into his own hands and took me to an optometrist one day after school. Without an overprotective mother, I had to find ways to cope on my own. (The various shrinks did help - I took a mixture of their advice and found out the best ways for me to cope) My mom was also working so hard that the responsibility for my younger brother and sisters mostly fell on me.

Responsibility is one of the biggest reasons why I'm alive today. After high school, I went to study nursing - my responsibility load dropped dramatically. I essentially lost my reason for living - and tried to commit suicide twice. Many people think that depressives try to commit suicide to get attention - only my best friend ever knew of my attempts and always only afterwards. I never wrote suicide notes and I never told anyone that I was going to commit suicide. Each time I survived, was because my body 'ignores' many drugs and I was able to sleep off the residual effects. I dropped out of college soon after - not being able to handle the workload and the people. Then I met my ex-husband and became pregnant. Now I had another reason to live - my child. Even with all the ups and downs - being hospitalised and changing medications, I've never tried to commit suicide since. Even with the emotional down of my divorce.

What do I think went wrong with Nick?
- His mother was over-protective. He never needed to develop alternative ways of coping with his illness. He might be alive today if he had.
- Leaving Link 80, made him leave his biggest responsibility behind. No responsibility gave him no reason to keep on living.
- He had a drug addiction that his mother never truly admitted to. In the book she makes it sound like he experimented with drugs occasionally. If his true situation corresponds to mine the way his does to me, his knowledge of pharmaceuticals would have rivalled that of a pharmacist. He might not have been physically addicted to one specific substance, but he was mentally addicted. I know I still am....