AustLit

'The deeply honest, funny, gut-wrenching and touching memoir from journalist, celebrity, wife, mother, television presenter and author, Jessica Rowe.

'The fairytale I had dreamt up saw me still blazing ahead with my career, sharing the cooking and cleaning duties with my husband and having neat, tidy and well- behaved children who had beautifully brushed hair. But that was not my life.

'Journalist, celebrity, television presenter, author, ambassador for beyondblue and patron of its work on post-natal depression, Member of the Order of Australia, risk-taker, social commentator, charity worker, public speaker, passionate mother and wife, Jessica Rowe is all of these things, and more. And in this extraordinary memoir, Jessica reveals herself as a woman who thought it would be easy to have it all, to do it all. But what was supposed to be her beautiful life derailed in the very public collapse of her television career accompanied by astonishingly hurtful public trolling, her long struggle to conceive, her fears and what she believed to be failings as a mother and in her professional life, and the diagnosis of post-natal depression.

'Thankfully, with proper medical help, and that of her beloved husband and family, Jessica ultimately rediscovers her 'sparkle'.

'Deeply honest, funny, gut-wrenching and touching this book will be treasured by women who don't feel they fit the mould of the perfect woman; women who understand that in life, 'having it all' may develop a different meaning; and women suffering from post-natal depression, who will be encouraged that it's okay to ask for help.' (Publication summary)

Penelope and Jessica Rowe have something in common, Bipolar disorder. Penelope has lived with it for over forty-five years although she was not diagnosed until her early thirties. Jessica has lived with it all her life - as the eldest child of an ill mother. This is their story about coping with an unpredictable enemy, and the way in which, with the support of family and friends, they managed to get through each day and survive.

Penelope brought up her three daughters as a single mother, struggled in a variety of jobs, published novels and short stories and, became a regular face on the wards of mental hospitals. Jessica unknowingly submerged her own sense of grief and resentment as she took on the responsibility for the well-being of her mother and her two younger sisters during the frequent times that Penelope was ill.

Without a hint of self pity, mother and daughter tell their stories - ultimately showing the underlying love within their family that has provided both strength and resolve. Depression has played a large and difficult part in their lives but it is only one part and despite all, their journey is a hopeful one.

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times is a joyful affirmation of the resilience, tenacity and courage of the human spirit and the all-encompassing power of unconditional love.

(Source: Allen & Undwin)