Don Walin has lived an amazing life. It’s not necessarily the life he wanted, but it is rich with adventure, spiritualism, and grace nonetheless. Walin’s bipolar disorder — which was called “manic depression” in the late 1970s – early 1980s, when he first began showing symptoms — derailed his dream of becoming one of the world’s top golf pros. But Walin’s memoir THE CRAZY GOLF PRO isn’t a story about achieving dreams. It’s about finding a way over and around mental illness in order to simply survive.
Walin’s knack for golf appeared when he was an adolescent. So did his yen for alcohol and pot. He was barely out of his teens when he experienced his first manic episode. It cost him his job and landed him in jail, followed by a stay at the psychiatric hospital. This cycle is repeated, again and again, for more than a decade. Every time Walin “gets his act together” — those brief periods of normalcy between manic highs and depressive lows — another manic episode trips him up, sending him back to square one. Worse, he’s back at square one with a reputation as a “crazy guy.” There are only so many second chances in life and Walin’s mental illness foils them all. In fact, the climax of Walin’s story isn’t when his persistence pays off, but when he backs out of a business deal to focus on his physical and mental health. After a few years as a certified golf pro, Walin is put on “retired” status due to his inability to work. Walin opts for a “low-stress, trigger-free” life instead of the high-pressure world of professional golf, and seems genuinely content with his decision.
Walin is a good writer and his narrative flows like a friendly conversation. His story chronicles the enormous toll mental illness extracts on family and friends and the tales Walin doesn’t tell are as compelling as the ones he does. Each of Walin’s manic episodes is followed by months — ultimately years — of him lying on his mother’s couch in a deep depression. What does his story look like through her eyes? When Walin begins a romantic relationship with one of his caregivers, his mother is furious. Walin chalks up mom’s behavior to jealousy or separation anxiety, but there’s something much deeper here that Walin fails to address. Similarly, Walin depicts his brothers as occasionally unsupportive. Yet they’re also the ones chasing Walin down the street during a manic episode so he doesn’t hurt himself, and driving hours to visit him in psychiatric hospitals all across Canada. Walin’s survival is due in no small part to the loved ones who were are always there to catch him and help him back on his feet. Walin’s wife has the most interesting untold story in this memoir — a professional caregiver who becomes a personal lover. Walin’s a charmer, but surely there’s more to this story. In addition to his wife, mother, and brothers, Walin also owes a debt of gratitude to the police officers, social workers, and doctors who — while far from perfect — ultimately got him the support he needed.
Don Walin’s engrossing memoir, THE CRAZY GOLF PRO, is a well-written and poignant memoir about living with bipolar disorder and the high toll mental illness takes on family and friends.
~Rob Errera for IndieReader