The Second: A Memoir of Love and Commitment

By Colleen Burns Durda | Officially published June 22nd, 2021

My memoir is now available at most booksellers including Magers & Quinn in Minneapolis. If you don’t see it where you shop, make sure to ask for it. Thanks so much for supporting independent booksellers!

— Colleen

Praise for The Second

“Over the course of this vividly rendered book, Durda tells a courageously honest and harrowing story that features insightful coping techniques.”

Kirkus Reviews

“The Second is an extraordinarily candid odyssey on the bipolar roller-coaster. At its most intense moments, Durda’s memoir is a mystery story in which neither she nor the reader is certain of what is real and what is a delusion. Her decades-long struggle to manage her mental illness is fraught with obstacles, including the mental health care system itself. The Second is an important indictment of practitioner dysfunction, revealed with love for family, resilience, and grace.”

— Jeffrey Zuckerman, Author of the award-winning memoir, Unglued: A Bipolar Love Story 

Available in print

The Story

The writing process to produce this book began the day I entered the psychiatric unit, a few weeks before this picture was taken. I knew I wanted to describe the events and emotions of that harrowing experience, yet I didn’t possess the tools. Many years later, I began formulating a story about a young woman who loses her mind. Getting distracted by the fictional characters I created mired the project in unnecessary details. In 2015, I made the decision to quit hiding behind the novel format and write the book as a memoir.

My efforts produced a rather dismal draft, which I submitted to an editor in September of 2019. Believing I was nearly finished, I celebrated with a trip to New England. The vacation was lovely but the self-congratulations proved premature. Umpteen iterations later, the final version went to the publishers in April of 2021.

Truly a labor of love and long overdue, The Second is my first book. Some people find the title confusing but I had my reasons for the choice. I hope you enjoy it.