As a teen, poet Shalanda Shaw was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The difficulties of her newly realized illness were devastating, but with the help of family, therapy, and medications, she found a way to survive-although it was never simple. She quickly learned to channel her emotional agony into the written word.

The Pain Sings a Song is a six-part poetic narrative of her journey. In parts one and two, Shalanda accepts her new status as someone with mental illness and says goodbye to the young woman she once was. In part three, she begs her own mind to let her change, let her heal, as she sinks further into the dark shadows of her mind.

Parts four and five iterate her need for revenge against bipolar disorder, and to channel her anger, she keeps a careful written account of what the disease has done to her. In part six, she is not healed, but she does consider the battle won by the grace of God. We all have pain in our lives, but somehow, we must find a way to sing.