Artworks hang like miniature Picassos on the kitchen pegboard. But this family is living something other than the American dream. The single mom, Chris, is bipolar. Chris asked that their last names not be used Their story is one of silent struggle, a struggle going on within countless Valley families. A struggle born of the fact that, while mental disease may strike through the cold mechanics of biology, its victims still strive for a good life.
Scientists believe that some people are born wired for mental illness through genetics.
Ill. But genes aren't everything. Recent studies suggest that environment, nutrition and health-care access all make a difference. That's comforting to Chris, but it doesn't make the family's days any easier. Chris grew up in a home where mental illness wasn't acknowledged. No one ever mentioned her mother's moodiness.