I was excited to be included in this important Wall Street Journal story about bipolar disorder from skilled reporter Melinda Beck. Thanks, too, to all the members of Project Beyond Blue who contributed to the story and to my doctor, Milena Hruby Smith. Distinguishing between regular depression and bipolar disorder is one of the toughest...

I didn’t earn the nickname “Tourettes” for my great small-talk skills. If there is a way to accidentally offend someone, I will find it. Here are some of my favorites: When I took my daughter Katherine, whom my husband and I named after my grandmother and my great grandmother, two very strong women in our...