Testimonials
Dear Linsey,
I wanted to personally reach out and express my sincere appreciation for you and the deeply moving story you shared in your book, Be There: My Lived Experience with My Sister’s Bipolar Disorder.
Your memoir carries a rare kind of honesty and courage. It invites readers into a journey that is both heartbreaking and profoundly human. Through your story with Betsy, you illuminate the quiet reality that so many families live through when mental illness touches someone they love. The way you share your experiences, memories, and reflections creates a powerful sense of understanding for anyone who has ever stood beside a loved one in the midst of struggle.
What makes your book especially meaningful is the compassion at its core. You do not only tell the story of illness. You tell the story of loyalty, of love between sisters, and of the strength it takes to remain present through decades of uncertainty. Your willingness to speak openly about the challenges of bipolar disorder helps break the silence and stigma that often surrounds mental health.
The way you explain the reality that caregivers did not cause the illness, cannot control it, and cannot cure it, yet can learn to cope, offers something incredibly valuable to readers. It gives families reassurance, understanding, and peace of mind. Your work helps people realize they are not alone in their experiences.
As we celebrate International Women’s Month, your voice stands as a powerful example of the strength and resilience that women bring into the world. Women are often the quiet caregivers, the ones who stand beside those they love through life’s most difficult moments. Your story honors that role with honesty and grace. By sharing your lived experience, you are giving comfort and insight to others walking similar paths.
Your book is more than a memoir. It is a testament to compassion, perseverance, and the enduring bond between sisters. It reminds us that even in the face of mental illness, love and understanding remain powerful forces.
This International Women’s Month, I celebrate you for the courage it takes to share such a personal journey. Your voice is helping others understand mental illness more deeply and helping families find strength where they once felt alone.
Your story reflects the spirit of these powerful words:
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” — Mother Teresa
“There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” — Michelle Obama
“A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman.” — Melinda French Gates
Thank you for sharing your truth, your compassion, and your courage with the world.
Sincerely yours,
Sam Collins
Be There provides a deep dive into the effects of bipolar disorder, not only on the individual who receives the diagnosis, but also on the family unit as a whole. Betsy, Dr. Willis’s sister, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1975 at the age of 21.
The book, a fascinating and often heart-wrenching memoir, documents Betsy’s experiences while encouraging readers to learn more about bipolar disorder through discussions about the science behind the illness and the sharing of photographs, letters written by Betsy, poetry, and commentaries about treatment facilities.
Be There: My Lived Experience with my Sister’s Bipolar Disorder is listed on Amazon and has attracted attention from broadcasters and podcasters. Dr. Linsey Wills has been featured on ReadersMagnet and recently spoke to Kate Delaney on America Tonight. The interview quickly evolved from an exchange about the book to a deeply moving, intriguing, and insightful discussion about the impact of mental illness.
Speaking in the interview with Kate Delaney, Dr. Willis shared her hopes and intentions to shine a light on the effects of bipolar disorder and mental illness as a whole on individuals, families, and wider communities. The goal, she explained, was not just to raise awareness of the wide-ranging consequences of mental health diagnoses, but to help caregivers and those who want to be a rock or a shoulder to cry on for people they love. Moreover she has formed an alliance with Wines for Humanity a company that gives 10% of its proceeds to the charity of the client’s choice. Dr. Willis has already held three wine tasting events, with raffle tickets to win a basket containing 2 bottles of wine, the book, a box of Cristina Chocolate and a Betsy Craig Foundation wine tote bag.
Be There is an open discussion about mental illness, but it’s also a means of providing caregivers with the hope, clarity, and healing that understanding a diagnosis brings. The four Cs, knowing that they didn’t cause the illness, can’t control it, they can’t cure it, but they can cope with it, form the foundation of the book.
One of the most moving parts is Dr. Willis’s explanation of why she chose to help, support, and love Betsy, despite their very strained and difficult relationship at times. Dr. Willis reflects on her experiences growing up when her sister would be very mean and abusive to her. When the diagnosis was confirmed, the response was to embrace Betsy and care for her.
Be There is a groundbreaking and powerful book for many reasons, not least because it features Betsy’s letters, which provide insights into the highs and lows and shed light on how Betsy functioned, thought, and expressed herself. By including her letters, Dr. Willis allows Betsy’s voice to live on while also providing validation for her own writings in the book.
Source: https://business.woonsocketcall.com/woonsocketcall/article/marketersmedia-2025-11-5-bipolar-disorder-be-there-book-author-linsey-willis-shares-raw-candid-insights-into-living-with-a-sister-with-bipolar-disorder