NOTE: This post will make a lot more sense if you read the post below this one first.

The first few lines of my book....

....would go something like this:

"Shit.

Sitting in my psychiatrist’s office, it began to sink in. I was single, 30—and, as of five seconds ago, diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

There are, I’ve since learned, many common, typical reactions to the initial diagnosis. Thoughts like: How will this affect my job—and, for that matter, my health insurance? How do I tell my friend and family (DO I tell them at all?!)? Will I have to be admitted to a mental hospital? Do I need to be on medication for the rest of my life?

Not me, though. No, for me, the first thing to float through my mind as tears welled up in my eyes was, Like dating wasn’t hard enough before. Wasn’t I approaching the age where you had a better chance of being killed by a terrorist than you did of finding a successful romantic relationship? And now I was adding “mental illness” into the equation? Hell, I might as well save myself the trouble and invest in several bright-colored, multi-patterned moo-moos and begin buying cat food in bulk (for me, not for any actual cats)?"

And then I'd go on to talk about some version of my post below.

Obviously, a lot of this book is on hold for a while, since I'm just beginning the DWB (Dating With Bipolar) process. I hope, of course, that this book has a happy ending. I hope that I DO find someone out there, so I can show that YES, you CAN find happiness with bipolar disorder, that you CAN find someone who will love you, warts and all.

Possible chapters include the first couple of dates; when do you tell him and how; how to survive the first "episode" of the relationship; possible triggers this new relationship could bring (fights, jealousy, etc); sex with bipolar disorder ("No, you can't give him some of your lithium to make it extra great"); and then, of course, engagement and all that.

OH!!!! THE SEQUEL COULD BE "Planning a Wedding with BD." LOL. The subtitle could be: "Everyone knows that planning a wedding makes you crazy. But what do you do when you start out that way?"

LOL

Anyway, first things first. What do we think? BE HONEST. If it's a horrible idea (or a horrible beginning), it's better to tell me now.