The Other Side of Me (book)
The Other Side Of Me is the autobiographical memoirs of American writer Sidney Sheldon published in 2005. It was also his final book.
Overview
Growing up in 1930s America, the young Sidney knew what it was to struggle. Millions were out of work and the Sheldon family was forced to journey around America in search of employment. Sidney worked nights as a bus-boy, a clerk, an usher.
His dream was to become a writer and to break into Hollywood. He found work as a reader for David Selznick, a top Hollywood producer, and the dream began to materialize. Sheldon worked through the night writing stories for the movies. Little by little, he gained a reputation. However, it was war time. He trained as a pilot in the US Army Air Corps in Utah and then waited in New York for the call to arms which could put a stop to his dreams of stardom. While waiting, he wrote librettos for Broadway shows.
In this book, Sheldon reveals that he was subject to frequent mood swings and often felt inappropriate emotions for his circumstances. At age 17, he seriously considered suicide. Later, at 31, he observed that he felt suicidal on what should have been the happiest day of his life when he won an Academy Award for his screenplay for The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer. He sought psychiatric help and was diagnosed as manic depressive (bipolar).