Barbara had it all: a successful career as an award-winning documentary film maker, a strong relationship, and plenty of friends. But a lingering problem with anxiety drew her into a dangerous Valium addiction. Her story is an honest, gripping look into addiction, her ill-advised "cold-turkey" withdrawal and the hospitalizations that followed, the worst the psychiatric field has to offer, and her painful yet persistent pathway back to functioning. Through it all, Gordon is a beacon of hope, actively choosing life over the alternative, even after journeying to the darkest depths of the human psyche.
This beautifully written classic is a must read for anyone battling their own psychological demons, anyone in the mental health field, and everyone in need of an inspiring survivor story.
Praise for I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can:
"Spellbinding seems too mild a word." -Detroit Free Press
"Gordon's story rings with authenticity." -Washington Post
"Not only a frightening account of the tortured journey of her mind and soul, but a beautiful story that is filled with life and hopeā ¦" -Philadelphia Bulletin
I don't think anyone involved in the publication of my memoir, including myself, ever imagined the impact that it would have on readers around the world. One totally unexpected and delightful bit of fall-out from the book's success is that the phrase "I'm Dancing as fast as Can" has become part of the national vocabulary and is used by people in their daily conversations as well as in print to describe individuals, countries, even corporations struggling to perform delicate balancing acts of one sort or another.
My own story involved a battle over physician prescribed drugs and digging my way out of the hidden pot holes in what was laughingly called, our mental health system.
Today the world has changed and yet in a way it hasn't. While there are still those who are chronically dependent on drugs "sanitized" by virtue of having been prescribed by physicians, there are new medications with fewer side affects. More people are using other methods like yoga and jogging to reduce the stress and anxiety in their lives.
There is an issue that remains as crucial today as it was almost thirty years ago. the transformations that are constantly challenging women, we keep changing our skins, shedding fur like animals in the spring, spiraling, growing, assuming new roles.
