How Talking Openly Against Stigma Helped A Mother And Son Cope With Bipolar Disorder

It was December 2012 when the country learned about the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, that left 20 children dead at the hands of 20-year-old shooter Adam Lanza.

After the shock and the initial grief came questions about how it could have happened and why. Reports that Adam Lanza may have had some form of undiagnosed mental illness surfaced.

The tragedy drove Liza Long to write a blog post on that same day, titled “I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother.” She wasn’t Lanza’s mom, but she was raising a child with a mental disorder.

Her 13-year-old son had violent rages on a regular basis. He was in and out of juvenile detention. He had threatened to kill her. She detailed all this in her essay that took off online.

Now, four years later, her son is speaking out too. To read more from NPR.