Melody Moezzi was born at the height of the Islamic Revolution in the Middle East and raised amid a vibrant, loving, and gossipy Iranian diaspora in the American Midwest. At eighteen, Moezzi began to battle a severe physical illness and her surrounding community showered her hospital room with roses, lilies, and hyacinths.

But when she attempted suicide and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, there were no flowers. She was encouraged to keep her mental illness a secret by both her family and an increasingly callous and indifferent medical establishment. Refusing to be ashamed, Moezzi became an outspoken advocate, determined to fight the stigma surrounding mental illness and reclaim her life along the way.

Today, as an Iranian-American Muslim activist, attorney, and award-winning author, she is also a UN Global Expert and a blogger for The Huffington Post and Ms. Magazine. Moezzi is also a featured columnist and blogger for Bipolar Magazine, and her writings have appeared in The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Christian Science Monitor, and many other publications worldwide. She has provided commentaries for CNN, NPR, BBC, HLN, PRI and other media outlets. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Islam, Muslim, Law, Blogging, Columnists, Advice columnist, Memoir & Biography, Bipolar Disorder, Lawyers Authors,