"Shadowed Soul" is a tale that will resonate with many. This is the fictional but realistic tale of Thomas Milton, a man suffering from bi polar/manic depressive syndrome. He was deeply in love with his wife, Beth, who was blind. However, their relationship went farther than love; he was deeply dependent on her. As she lay in the hospital giving birth to their first child he struggled with his strong feelings of hatred toward the child. The emotion seemed to be born out of unfounded worry that Beth might die and he believed he could not exist without her. Perhaps he thought the boy would take Beth's focus away from him. After the birth of their child Beth and their son moved in with her parents for the safety of the child. On his own except for Beth's Seeing Eye dog, Bailey, Thomas spiraled downward into a world that became darker. He envisioned his depression as an entity that he could talk with and he named it the 'Shadowed Soul'.
This book held me captive from the first page to the last. John M. Spagnoli opens a window through which the reader can peer into the mind of a bi polar/ manic depressive. Few people have any understanding of the illness, the symptoms or the behavior that goes along with it. The author uses metaphors, analogies and vivid descriptions in demonstrating the way the mind of a person with this mental illness works. This book offers hope to those suffering from this disease and to their family.