Book review: A Tragic Kind of Wonderful

THIS is a strange book - at least initially. Heading every chapter are four lines of text in caps - Hamster is active; Hummingbird is hovering; Hammerhead is cruising; and Hanniganimal is up.
The first word of each line all begins with the same alphabet, and is some kind of animal or bird but what they are doing differs. Like I said, strange. And Mel Hannigan is strange. But as you read on, things become clear.
She has had a tough time. Mourning the death of her beloved brother, the loss of friendships that had meant the earth to her, and worse of all, she has a bipolar disorder.
She doesn’t want anybody to know. In trying to protect herself and everyone else, Mel pretends nothing is wrong, living her life as quietly as possible.
But always besieged with endless variations of moods, emotions, intensity, frequently, reactions, episodes, delusions, breakdowns...it’s no picnic. Then, meeting someone new and faced with the plight of an old friend, Mel gradually opens up to life. But will it lead to the discovery of a kind of wonderful or will it lead to disaster?
Surprises are lurking at every corner and even in the midst of such a serious situation, author Eric Lindstorm manages to make you laugh. Of course, at the appropriate moments, there are tears as well.
A Tragic Kind of Wonderful grows on you and it is both a thoughtful as well as an entertaining read.
Author: Eric Lindstrom
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 9780008147471