Manic Love: An Unwanted Inheritance

Virginia Hendricks, a beautiful country girl from Millry, Alabama, was swept off her feet at the age of 19 by a handsome and charming preacher’s kid. As they build a life around the military, Virginia is forced to test her unconditional love for Franklin as his genetic inheritance of bipolar disorder seeks to destroy their family. By God’s grace, they fight to persevere through tragedy, illness, despair, and heartbreak during a long battle with the ups and downs of manic love.

Brenda Webb Johnson has a PhD in Adult Education and is licensed as a clinical social worker (LCSW). She has worked in a variety of social work roles over the past 30 years of service to the Department of Veterans Affairs and currently serves as the Designated Learning Officer at the Tampa VA. Over the years, Brenda has chosen a variety of community outreach activities seeking to help other African American families learn how to get a proper diagnosis and treatment and live successfully with mental illness the way my father has. ​Although her first book, Manic Love: An Unwanted Inheritance of Mental Illness, is inspired by her mothers journey, this second book describes her father's journey. Both books are fictional accounts inspired by her parents stories, her life experience from outreach efforts, and she prays it resonates with those who have questions and need a little push to not ignore what's in front of them. This story was written to inspire all not to allow themselves or anyone else they know to suffer in silence, to find support, and successfully live with whatever cards you're dealt in this short thing we call life.Brenda is a wife, mother, grandmother, and independent travel advisor with a passion for helping others. She is a military dependent who has been married for 32 years with two adult children and one grandchild. She enjoys new adventures, golf, softball, traveling, and of course continuous learning.