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.
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