About The Author

Angela Grett of Nashville, TN has experienced first-hand the difficulties caused by a parent’s bipolar disorder. Grett’s first memory involved the separation of her parents when she was four years old. She desperately tried to understand why Daddy had packed all their belongings for the move to another town, but Mommy wasn’t coming with them. She felt her world “crumble” not knowing if she would ever see her mommy again. The memorable day her mother returned, little Angela was thrilled and changed forever. “I believed that if I took good care of my mommy, she would never go away again,” Grett remembered. “I lost my childhood that day. It’s not that I never played or had fun again, but my idea of fun changed. My new perception was that my role was to take care of my mother and myself.”

Broken relationships complicated Grett’s difficult childhood. Her parents divorced when she was 12 years old. Her first stepfather, who was an alcoholic, moved Grett and her two young siblings into his tumultuous Nashville home. By the time Angela was a young adult, her mother had married and divorced three times.

Despite these challenges, Grett earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Middle Tennessee State University and a master’s degree in strategic planning from the University of Pittsburgh. During the past 20 years, she has held finance- and technology-related executive positions for companies such as Spheris Operations Inc., Marconi Communications, Affiliated Computer Services, U.S. Steel, PPG Industries, and HCA. Today, she is the founder and corporate executive of Ascynd, a project management firm located near Nashville, TN.

Now a highly successful author, consultant and speaker, Grett is eager to help others by telling her own story. Her experiences have earned her the self-designated degree of CBP: Child of a Bipolar Parent.

Her mission is to help others overcome the difficulties of having a bipolar parent, spouse, co-worker or family member. “I’m working to bring families together and to reduce the stigma attached to bipolar and other mood disorders by informing people about the realities of the condition,” Grett said. “The disorder’s impact on families is rarely addressed in today’s society.”

Grett has developed an educational talk specially tailored to meet the needs of mental health support organizations, employee support groups, and businesses of all kinds. The 30- to 45-minute audiovisual presentation features a speech, question and answer session with discussion, and Power Point. Recent appearances include the National Alliance for Mental Illness in Nashville, Memphis, Crossville, Columbia, and Fayetteville, TN. Grett has also spoken to NAMI chapters in Las Vegas, NV; Metropolis, IL; and Hendersonville, NC. Her message of hope and healing has also been heard at the Palette Gallery in Nashville (Mental Illness Awareness Week), the All About Women conference in Nashville, and the 2007 NAMI Wiregrass Mental Health seminar in Dothan, AL.

Grett now plans to establish a non-profit organization to help de-stigmatize bipolar disorder by educating corporations and individuals about the symptoms, causes, and other important information about bipolar disorder. The Grett Foundation will also provide adult children of bipolar a safe place to share and discover the impact their parent’s illness had on their lives.

For more information about Grett or to book her for an upcoming event, call (615) 309-0326, visit the contact page of this website, or fax Angela in care of Children of Bipolar at 615- 250-9429.