Benjamin Diven, author of Closing the Chasm: Letters from a Bipolar Physician to His Son

Benjamin Diven, M.D. is a physician practicing and teaching in New Mexico. Trained in family and emergency medicine, he has worked in a variety of specialized areas of medicine for nearly thirty years. He has been married thirty-one years to his remarkable wife Elinor. They have three grown children.

Dr. Diven developed his first symptoms of bipolar disorder while in high school. The first symptoms were a significant depression. Mania followed in his early twenties and by his late twenties he developed the 'mixed' form of bipolar or manic-depressive disorder.

Having bipolar illness added a twist and a struggle to everything in life. Despite the problems Dr. Diven was able to persevere (with considerable help) in his life as a husband, father, and physician. Nothing was easy and that is just as true for his wife and children. As is commonly the case the problems were kept under wraps until long after receiving a diagnosis and experiencing effective treatment and therapy. Writing a book about the sometimes unique and other times commonplace events of his life was a late idea made possible by some years of considerable stability.

Matt, Dr. Diven's oldest son and the recipient of the letters in the book has mixed emotions about its contents. He remembers, all too well, much of what is contained in the book plus much more and experiences both anger and empathy toward his father for the years bipolar disorder disrupted Matt's life.