5150: A Manic Depressive Adventure

5150 A Manic Depressive Adventure is the first full length memoir by writer Tony del Zompo. Tony grew up in a troubled home. His father, a Korean War Veteran, an alcoholic, and a San Francisco Police Sergeant was an ominous presence throughout his childhood and adolescence. His mother, a hairstylist with an insatiable need for control, was too busy trying to keep the house intact to notice how the family chaos had affected her youngest son. Tony began to medicate himself with booze and drugs at an early age, and although he sobered up briefly in his twenties, he reached his young adulthood completely unaware that he was about to assume responsibilities for which he was completely unprepared.

On the outside, it looked like Tony had it all together. He had a beautiful wife and daughter, and a promising career ahead of him. Despite it all, Tony could not outrun the childhood that followed him with each and every step he took. When his wife asked for a divorce, he spiraled into addiction once again. What follows is an unpredictable, wild ride into the abyss.

This is the story a regular guy who, by all appearances, had everything and lost it all along with his sanity. We follow Tony into the psych ward, jail, to a brief volunteer stint at Ground Zero in New York, and back to California where he survives a near-fatal automobile accident. The reader can't help but root for him as he recovers from his injuries and makes a comeback, only to burn it all back down one last time before confronting what might have been the final decision he would ever have to make.

Tony writes with an urgency that compels the reader to turn the page. While some may find it difficult to digest, anyone who has endured a mental health crisis or stood back and watched while a loved-one is consumed by addiction will identify with the story, and perhaps even find themselves someplace within the pages wishing that they could do something to pull Tony out of his downward spiral before it's too late.