"Feeling sad sometimes is a normal part of being human. But for some people, the sad feelings overtake everything else, leaving them hopeless and empty. The things that used to make them feel happy don't make them feel that way anymore. Having depression is a very common and very serious mental disorder. However, there are ways to fight depression, get treatment, and feel better. The lives of millions of kids are affected by mental illness. And yet...

Seven years ago Paul Raeburn's son, Alex, eleven, was admitted to a psychiatric hospital after leaving his fifth-grade classroom in an inexplicable rage. He was hospitalized three times over the next three years, until he was finally diagnosed by a psychiatrist as exhibiting a clear-cut case of bipolar disorder. This ended a painful period of misdiagnosis and inappropriate drug therapy. Then Raeburn's younger daughter, Alicia, twelve, was diagnosed...