Pop quiz: Is Bugs Bunny bipolar? Was Winston Churchill? How about Margot Kidder, Henry VIII, and Frank Sinatra?*


What about you?


If you're one of the roughly 4 percent of the population with diagnosed bipolar disorder-or the even smaller percentage with bipolar II-join the club.


Bipolar disorder is mental illness. It's manic depression. It's serious. If you've just been diagnosed, however, take heart: You haven't joined a secret society. We manic-depressives are everywhere, and you already know some of us. You're not alone.


Bipolarized II (written by a practicing BP II) can help you make sense of a serious but misunderstood mental illness-the only one with an up side. With luck, it may make you laugh, too. If you're looking for gloom and doom, don't look here. But if you're up for an irreverent guide to a quirky condition, this is the place.


Take heart: You're not crazy. You're only bipolar.


* Why not, no, yes, probably not, and yes.