Have you ever felt that you give more than you get in a relationship? Have you ever secretly wished that you could be loved by a man as much as you love him? It is painful, isn’t it, for giving so much more in love than you are given back; for trying so hard to make a relationship work but the other partner is not willing to try as hard you are. You are not alone; many people live with that broken heart that comes from not being loved enough.

What do bipolar relationships, grieving, grief and loss, romance, and Maya Angelou have to do with each other? Reading Angelou's ground-breaking and deeply moving, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings " proved to be an illuminating experience. Her perceptive explorations gave me the courage to look at my own relationships more deeply, and helped me begin to wring some clarity from the ashes of past, disastrous liaisons. Her words have also given me insight into the troubled relationships among some of my friends, and family members.