RIDING THE STORM A Memoir of Mental Illness

Imagine you are wearing sunglasses. You are always wearing sunglasses. You never take them off…

This is how Ryan Harland brilliantly begins to describe to us what it feels like to have Emotional Intensity Disorder (EID) or Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD).

The sunglasses are not there to protect you like normal sunglasses, he writes in this searingly honest memoir.

They don’t shield you from the sun and make you look cool and feel groovy. These sunglasses harm you. Each pair makes you see the world, and yourself, in a different way, a sinister, confusing, threatening way.

Once called Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Ryan was diagnosed with the condition as an adult after a lifetime of struggles.

After facing many traumatic events – including the loss of his beloved brother, Kevin, and a sexual assault by his father – Ryan finally understood why he felt and behaved in the way that he did.

And then, with the support of his devoted mother, he started the fight back…

In this bold and brave memoir, Ryan takes us on a journey of rage and revelation, anger and acceptance, love and betrayal.