This Fragile Life ─ A Mother's Story of a Bipolar Son

Charlotte Pierce-Baker and her husband were always there for their son Mark, providing not only emotional support but the best education possible, the freedom to choose his own path, and every opportunity to succeed. At age twenty-five, he was pursuing a postgraduate degree in film, living with his fiancée, and seemingly in control of his life. Pierce-Baker never imagined her high-achieving son would wind up barely clothed, dirty, mad, and in jail. Her real education began with Mark’s first psychotic episode.This Fragile Life is the story of an African American family facing the challenges of their son's bipolar disorder, tracing the evolution of his illness and providing insight into mental disorders as well as family dynamics.