Martin Townsend grew up with a father, Ron, who had suffered from bipolar depression since the early 1950s.At the slightest emotional trigger Ron could turn from a loving and compassionate dad to a dead eyed depressive or a bullying monster.One minute he’d be building his sons a playhouse, the next terrorizing the family.The illness was an unwanted outsider in their family that could spoil the rhythm of ‘normal’ life and leave Ron in a cycle of unending loneliness and confusion. Yet despite his often erratic behaviour, Ron was a larger than life and much loved character.In The Father I Had, Martin Townsend paints an intimate, tender and often painful portrait of life with his Dad, a man who he loved unconditionally but who would turn on him whenever the illness took hold.In doing so, he also exposes the reality of an illness which is, even now, often swept under the carpet. ‘An acutely written and deeply felt portrait’ Daily Express ‘I laughed and cried at Martin Townsend's touching account of a son's embarrassment, fear, pleasure and love in his relationship with his father who was a manic depressive.

It's also a powerful indictment of a society that still fails people who have a mental illness’ Jenni Murray ‘A compelling read that makes you laugh as well as ache and also gives a vivid snapshot of life in suburban Britain in the early '60s’ Woman & Home.