Justin Potter Library was the backdrop for a book signing of Smithville native Mickey Driver’s first book – as told by Beverly Freeman - “The Book of Whispers” on Thursday.
The book tells the story of Driver’s relationship with his son Jake McClain Driver. Jake battled bipolar disorder and tragically took his own life at age 26.  It chronicles the extraordinary steps Driver took to help his son overcome the illness, as well as the effect his death had on him.
Interwoven throughout the story, we get to experience Jake’s courageous fight with the illness, how he had tremendous talent and intellect and how it affected loved ones in his life, none more so than his father who lets us in on all the hardships, the ups and downs, and Jake’s passion for life as well as his torments.
Readers get to share a first-hand account of how bi-polar illness affects sufferers and family members alike with a rare insider’s view of an illness often given lip service at best, or stigmatized at worse.
Not only did local readers get to talk with Driver, ask questions and purchase an autographed copy but the entire proceeds went to a good cause, benefitting Smithville’s Haven of Hope.
Haven of Hope is a counseling service through First Baptist Church which received a $1,000 donation to from Mickey and his wife Debbie Driver. All the profits from the book sales are donated to benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness/Greater Houston. The book even has a strong following overseas, especially in the UK.
“It tells the story about him from a personal perspective and how the numerous mood swings he went through affected him throughout his life,” Mickey Driver said. “Jake called his poetry journal ‘The Book of Whispers’ which is why we used it for the book. We actually found some of the poetry – one of which is at the beginning of the book – in his apartment after he died titled  ‘Jake’s Prayer.”
Jake was not only a talented poet, and an intelligent artistic person, but excelled at playing the guitar as well. He was an entrepreneur who worked on several small businesses, including one to help people get copyrights for their creative works.
Jake was an avid reader of daily newspapers and books, and loved conversations on current topics. He was an amateur radio operator, call sign KC5WXA, who enjoyed building equipment and talking to other ham operators around the world. He enjoyed attending Theater Under the Stars and other Houston performing arts and making visits with his family to Houston’s art and science museums.
“He actually started playing guitar in Smithville and had his first appearance on stage at the Fiddler’s Jamboree,” Driver said. “He loved the Alabama song ‘Song of the South’ and in 1988 I accompanied him onstage with a guitar and he played a ukulele belting out the song. He loved it so much we would come back again on many occasions and he would always bring his guitar.”
“The Book of Whispers” has a photograph of one of Jake’s favorite moments playing John Lennon songs at Strawberry Fields in New York’s Central Park.  A complete section of photos in the book chronicles Jake’s life, which went from being a book of poetry to including Jake’s life story.
“We just wanted to share Jake’s poetry with the world when the project started,” Driver said. “The more we talked with folks though, we found out by including the details of Jake’s life in the book people would get a better perspective of what it’s like to suffer from mental illness and give the poetry more meaning.”
Bi-polar illness can strike anyone, anywhere although there seems to be some predisposition to those with a family history. Working for Chevron as a member of the public affairs team for 35 years, Driver worked relentlessly with his son to fight the devastating affects he suffered. Along with the manic spurts of creativity came the downs of depression. Diagnosed with bi-polar at the age of 14, it is thought Jake suffered from the effects much earlier.
As he tells in the book, Driver’s greatest achievement was as Jake’s father. 
“Jake taught me to open my heart bigger than I could have ever imagined,” he said.  “Through Jake, I learned the difference between what is important in life and what is not.  He taught me the true meaning of unconditional love.”
While Jake called his journal ‘The Book of Whispers, the book itself is a shout to help others who might be in the grips of dealing with mental illness or their caregivers.
Millions of Americans are affected by mental illness. Here are just a few statistics provided by the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—43.8 million, or 18.5 percent—experiences mental illness in a given year.
Approximately 1 in 25 adults in the U.S.—10 million, or 4.2 percent—experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.
Approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 (21.4 percent) experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life. For children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13 percent.
1.1 percent of adults in the U.S. live with schizophrenia.
2.6 percent of adults in the U.S. live with bipolar disorder.
6.9 percent of adults in the U.S.—16 million—had at least one major depressive episode in the past years.
18.1 percent of adults in the U.S. experienced an anxiety disorder such as posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and specific phobias.
Among the 20.2 million adults in the U.S. who experienced a substance use disorder, 50.5 percent—10.2 million adults—had a co-occurring mental illness.
You can purchase the book in either hard cover or digital formats from Amazon.com where the book is garnering rave reviews or go to the book’s website at http://thebookofwhispers.com/ for excerpts of Jake’s poetry and more information. Mickey Driver asks that readers be so kind as to fill out an online review.