Dancing on the Edge

Alan discussed the idea behind the text to Dancing on the Edge back in May 1998, and it is a distinct pleasure to see this book come to life. The uniqueness of the artwork that complements Alan�s life story, it is to be hoped, will give others in the mental health profession, the media, and the general population insight into the inner world of the manic depressive. The book is also a clear demonstration that bipolar disorder is treatable, can increase one�s sensitivity to oneself and others, and should not be seen as a stigma but rather a positive national concept.
�Paul J. Goodnick, M.D. Director, Mood Disorder Program Professor of Clinical Psychiatry & Behavioral Science University of Miami School of Medicine

Alan Lantieri has captured his own experience of bipolar disorder in words and art, and the results are riveting. Dancing on the Edge provides a firsthand understanding of bipolar disorder for mental health professionals and caregivers, as well as provides a path of healing to those suffering from the disorder.
�Margaret Springer, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Dancing on the Edge is one of the few �unputdownable� books I have come across in a long time. Honest, courageous, it is an agonizing read, an enriching experience. The prose, together with the artwork, pulled me in and would not let go. Certain passages are painfully beautiful: �My life had broken free of its moorings, and I was adrift on a vast sea of emptiness.� �I was groveling in the slop of severe depression.� Only someone who has been there could express it quite like this.
�Ethel Bensky, Ph.D., Addictions Counselor, Geneva, Switzerland

Alan Lantieri is a talented and dynamic individual. He attended the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan, majoring in commercial art. After serving two years in the Navy, Mr. Lantieri pursued a career in show business on Broadway, followed by a position in sales, marketing, and public relations until 1992. The effects of bipolar disorder began to negatively affect his personal and professional life. He was finally accurately diagnosed and treated, which led him to commence his third career in the mental health field, in which he has been employed for the past several years as a Mental Health Professional.