Walking the Black Dog

By Elizabeth Lane

A frank account of a four-year struggle with a force that cannot be reasoned with - bipolar. Everybody experiences stress, guilt and grief; we all have days when we don't like ourselves very much. Imagine waking up one day and that is all you feel for months and months. But if we are never awake in darkness, we can never truly appreciate the light.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Debbie Lee
• Release date: Jul 25, 2015
• ISBN: 9781760410032

Elizabeth Lane

Elizabeth Lane was raised in Monroe, Utah, a small town set between forested mountains and red rock desert. The eldest of two sisters, she grew up hiking, fishing and camping with her family. She graduated from the University of Utah with a major in biology/education and minors in Spanish and art. Early on she worked as a teacher and as a proofreader before beginning a 23-year career as an educational software designer. The job included writing children's stories. Many of the children's books she wrote are still in print. In the late 1970s, after selling several children's stories to a magazine, she decided to try a novel. Her first adult book, Mistress Of The Morning Star, was published in 1980. After publishing five more novels and ghost-writing two others, she sold a proposal to Harlequin's then-new historical line. As of 2008, she has written 25 books for Harlequin. Presently Elizabeth lives in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah. She has a grown son and daughter and three grandchildren. Another daughter died in an accident in 1985. An avid traveler, she has lived in several states, as well as Mexico, Germany, Guatemala and Panama. Her favorite places to visit include Hong Kong, Nepal, Tanzania and Peru. She also loves to hike and dance, and gives back to her community by volunteering as a zoo docent. Elizabeth now writes full time. She will have three new Harlequin Historicals coming out in the months ahead as well as a novella in Harlequin's 2009 Western Christmas Anthology. She also blogs regularly on the popular site, Petticoats and Pistols.

Book preview

Walking the Black Dog

Cleaning cutlery

---

A large sharp blade

of a slicing knife

calls to me.

How easily

I could turn it

onto myself.

But the spoons

stop me

– the tiny teaspoons

with their dainty tails,

the soup spoons

with their round wise heads.

I would miss the tea

and the soup

and all the desserts

that come with the forks.

Slipping

---

I crawl out

from beneath my rock

and feel the sun

the warm rays

touch my heart

and it begins to beat again.

I take a step

and feel the muscles

in my legs

tense and flex.

I walk.

A gentle breeze

passes my flushed cheeks.

I start to run

I am galloping

gaining speed.

But then I lose control

I am hurtling along

everything is a blur.

I stumble

fall

lying flat on my face.

Slowly I get back