Rating: 
Summary: I wish I could have met him, he seemed like a great person.
Review: I could not put the book down, which is saying a lot because I have a 2 year old and a 3 year old. I have been a fan of Danielle Steel's for a long time. I feel like I met her son, Nick, and was there with the family every step of the way. I was so inspired by the wonderful relationship she had with Nick and how they shared so much of eachother with one another. I only hope I can have good communication between myself and my children. I think and now know that she is a wonderful mother and put her children first. I feel like Nick (and her other kids too) know exactly how much she loves them and cares for them and she would never have to say "I wish I would have told them how much I love them" after a family member died. I hope the book can help other people with Bipolar and also learn to be more open and loving with your family.
Rating: 
Summary: Mother's story of the manic-depressive son's fall to suicide
Review: Danielle Steel's biography of her son, a brilliant, handsome boy who was finally diagnosed as atypical manic-depressive, and his eventual suicide at age 21 was a disappointment. It is also an autobiography of Ms. Steel's struggle with her son, the disease, and the medical-psychiatric community over her son's condition. While a compelling story (the photographs throughout the book make the suicide all the more tragic), Ms. Steel's narration can be taken as somewhat one-sided. I would wish more insight into the effects of Nick (the son) on the family, his adoptive father, and those around him. These relationships she handles in almost off-handed observations ("all the children loved Nick") but several pages later ("the family was delighted to have a dinner without Nick's disturbances"). While Nick was sent to numerous psychiatrists, hospitals and schools, Ms. Steel had the tendency to allow him to leave the schools or care of the psychiatrist(s) the moment he decided the treatment became in any way uncomfortable, and seemingly on just his say-so. We never are told the incidents that get him expelled from schools with warnings never to return.With a bit more depth, this story might have been a truly great and helpful narrative of a tragic figure, and might have been of immense assistance to those with similar children who would wish to attempt to prevent the same fate from befalling their child. Perhaps the author can re-look at the events of Nick Triana's life in several years, after the understandable pain of his death has more time to heal, and write a revised and more insightful edition.
Rating:
Summary: It was sad, but very beneficial
Review: I picked up this book the day it hit the shelves and finished it three days later. I knew Nick Traina for more than two years, he was a wonderful person who had a terrible disease. He suffered from manic-depression which afflicts many people. Basically, the book starts with his life and ends with his death. Imagine being manic-depressive your whole life and always staying in hospitals, seeing shrinks and psychiatrists. Nick unfortunately went through all that ever since he was a kid, his family not knowing of his illness until he was a teenager. They always knew he wasn't "just like any other kid", he was special. Nick achieved more than most will in a lifetime in 19 years. That's pretty amazing. He knew what it felt like to be successful, happy, have a great band, lots of friends and a wonderful family who cared so deeply for him. (And still do.) As Danielle wishes this book will bring hope to many people, so do I, as a guide in life. The book wasn't supposed to be out until today, September 20th, in remembrance of Nick. It has been one year today since he passed away. After reading this book, whether you knew Nick or not, you'll definetely fall in love with him.
Rating:
Summary: an hard book to read-but must be read!
Review: Okay, okay, like a lot of people I have made fun of Danielle Steel's books-but His Bright Light just blew me away and broke my heart. The way she tells about his struggle with bipolar disease but yet remained charming and loving is amazing. It reminds me of a quote by Anne Lamott-"To have written your version is an honorable thing to have done....you have put it down on paper, so that it won't be lost." Nick Traina's story will never be lost, thanks to Danielle Steel.
Rating:
Summary: Danielle's Sorrow
Review: After watching an interview with Danielle Steel on 20/20, I turned to her website and then amazon.com. I purchased the book, His Bright Light: Nick's Story, read it, and I must say I am amazed. Danielle wrote a *wonderful* book about a *wonderful* person... Manic-depression is a truly troublesome disease, and any parent should read her book and be aware of the symptoms. It is treatable, but it has to be diagnosed first.
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: One of the most ....
Review: Touching stories I ever fread.
I read this book about 3 years ago and I still get moved by it's reallity whenever I cross it. Amazing true story.
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: Very stimulating
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....
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