Patty Duke

“At the age of 19, I removed myself from society for almost four months, setting off years of manic episodes, including outrageous overspending. I bought several Mercedes because I thought I could. I had no money, but I rented a jet.”

“I was a truly loving mom, but I didn't have the tools to do the job.”

“Reality is hard. It is no walk in the park, this thing called Life.”

“I've gotten to the age where I'm comfortable with just about everything - except getting old!”

“I have been afraid all my life that I am going to die. All my life it has been stuffed in my imagination.”

“I'm going to be 58, and I'm a woman. In this business, that seems to be a bigger crime than being mentally ill.”

“I think my real depressions started when I was about 16 and doing The Patty Duke Show. I would go to bed at about 10 o'clock on a Friday night and not get up again until 6:30 Monday morning.”

“I had been very close to Anne Bancroft when we worked together in The Miracle Worker.”

“The Eleanor Roosevelt Award that I received for women's rights activities is one I treasure.”

“I believe that all the important people in my life prior to 1982 were victimized by my illness.”

“When I'm 80 and sitting in a rocking chair listening to the Rolling Stones, there is absolutely no way I'm going to feel old or forget my younger days.”

“It's not a giant thrill to hear someone give you the label 'manic-depressive,' but to me I was so relieved. What I was suffering from had a name and could be treated.”

“Fairness is really important to me.”

“Bipolar indicates that you're not - you don't just experience depression, but the mood swing goes up, and it can go very up.”

“I can't even remember how many times I tried to kill myself.”

“No amount of therapy will take care of a chemical imbalance of the brain.”

“One of the reasons I survived as well as I did was my genetics. My mother and father both had very tough lives, and boy, were they survivors.”