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Publisher: Rodale Press 
Release Date: September 2003 
ISBN: 1579548318 
Awards:  
Format Reviewed:  Hardcover
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Genre: Non-fiction [ Miami, mid 1980's] 
Reviewed: 2003
Reviewer: Lynda E. Lukow 
Reviewer Notes:  Sex: references, not explicit

Siren's Dance
My Marriage to a Borderline: A Case Study
By Anthony Walker, M.D.

     Anthony Walker was an intern making rounds when he first met Michelle, an attempted suicide patient. His interest in psychiatry and his need to present a case study necessitated an in-depth interview during which she drew him like flame attracts a moth.

     Their whirlwind courtship began after her discharge. Her seductive beauty and passionate extremes proved too strong a temptation for the oldest son of a goal-driven, Catholic family. His need to rescue and heal her surpassed his underlying doubts and colleagues' warnings.

     His constant attention and unconditional love proved fruitless. Life became a stroll in a minefield of manipulation. Michelle rewarded his compliance with love untold and his missteps with violent explosions.

    Siren's Dance presents a factual, first-hand account of living with a Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Dr. Walker relates how his love for the woman ignored her illness, yet allowed her emotional extremes to pervade his personality. His downward spiral into her manipulative abyss and his subsequent ascent make compelling reading. He doesn't claim to be a saint, but any man who endures riding a roller coaster built on eggshell tracks for as long as he did deserves a medal.

     Michelle's case is an extreme example of BPD that will open readers' eyes not only to the trials of the sufferer, but also to the impact of the illness on family and friends. Dr. Anthony Walker asks not for sympathy, though both he and his wife earned mine. He seeks only to provide candid insight into the mental illness that afflicts approximately two percent of the world's population, including the late Princess Diana and Marilyn Monroe. I highly recommend this novel.