Title: Unbalanced: The Autobiography of a Schizophrenic Bipolar Woman
Author: Lisa M. Fina
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 978-1532059407
Pages: 80
Genre: Autobiography
Reviewed by: Lisa Brown

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Fraught with emotions ranging from heartbreak, to rage, to shame, to hope and triumph, what strikes you most after finishing Unbalanced: The Autobiography of a Schizophrenic Bipolar Woman is the depth of pain and range of emotion experienced throughout her heart wrenching life’s journey witnessed, via the unadulterated recollections of author Lisa M Fina. This work brings the ordeals of her life, from severe abuse to nearly lifelong suffering from a range of acute mental disorders, including; schizophrenia, depression, paranoia, suicidal tendencies and bipolar disorder of which she vividly details all into lucid focus.

Initially, author Lisa M. Fina offers readers a view into her family background, where she refers to her parents noting her mother’s early treatment of her and her sister as well as her father’s blooming mental illness. Also, she reflects on the childhood instances where she dealt with intense emotional discomfort. In particular the most affective experiences in her life were those surrounding her military father’s dark deviant behavior, as a father and husband. Author Fina details his seemingly alternating personalities, mood swings, paranoia and violent tendencies, which overall, kept her and her family living with absolute fear and uncertainty whenever he was home. Her memories bring on stark emotions as she recalls having lived a childhood steeped in fear. She recalls her mother suffering from verbal abuses while she and her sister suffered from both physical abuse and sexual abuses at the hands of her father, who was considered as “the monster in the house.”

Progressing into her adulthood, author Fina begins to note odd behavior and feelings which turn out to be symptoms of her disorders. Consequently, the combination of traumatizing events as well as a predisposition to mental illness plagues her life, affectively triggering her towards a yawning schism of emotional imbalance, bad decisions, sexual promiscuity, and drug abuse. Additionally, the book turned out to be more than just an autobiography, rather it elucidated and educated about surviving through and defeating severe mental disorders, additionally delving into noted symptoms, triggers, medications, as well as viable alternative therapies.

Altogether, Unbalanced ultimately made for a soul stirring read, ripe with a raw, gritty and unfiltered narrative and powered by a will to survive and painful emotions. This was a read that kept me rapt, I became more than just casually engaged in her story. In fact, I become invested in following her story to the end to see where her road in life ended up hoping, that it turned out to be a good safe place. I recommend this book to adult autobiography fans.