Poetry and Short Stories by a Bipolar Girl by Melissa Burke is at times beautiful and at times frightening in the vivid descriptions of the deep melancholy and self-destructive feelings of a teenager living with bipolar disease. The pain that she is feeling comes through in her writing, even as she fights the feelings that plague her. The minute by minute documentation of her life in one story pulls the reader in and makes you begin to appreciate, even if you cannot fully understand, the disease Burke is fighting. One of the major real measures of success for Burke is her ability to escape her fear and pain through sleep; if only she could sleep.

In Poetry and Short Stories by a Bipolar Girl, Burke has established a voice for teenagers and young adults who are trapped in the bipolar world. She expresses the fears and insanity of her world in straight forward prose and poetry that makes this disease seem very real. In parts of the writing, she seems to have very pointed insights into herself and her world – at other times, she seems so despondent as to be totally disconnected and lost in her emotional existence. One of the most interesting aspects of this short collection is Burke’s take on the normal angst of a teenager – but as seen through bipolar eyes and mindset. This is a very important short book, both for those who suffer from bipolar disease, but also for people who do not. The insights that this young girl shares may very well change the way you look at mental illness.