Crazy Is My Superpower - A. J. Mendez

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
WWE superstar AJ Lee candidly shares her lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder and how embracing her diagnosis gave her the confidence to take back control of her life.

"Crazy Is My Superpower is at once breathtakingly honest, hilariously funny, self-deprecating, and incredibly inspiring."-Julie Klam, New York Times bestselling author of Friendkeeping

Everything I was told should be my greatest insecurities and weaknesses, everything that I've been labeled-SHORT, NERDY, SKINNY, WEAK, IMPULSIVE, UGLY, TOMBOY, POOR, REBEL, LOUD, FREAK, CRAZY-turned out to be my greatest strengths. I didn't become successful in spite of them. I became successful because of them.

Growing up AJ was a quiet girl trying to act "normal" when she felt anything but. As her family struggled with drug addiction, poverty, and mental illness, she found escape through comic books and video games, and inspiration in tough, unconventional female characters. It wasn't until she discovered pro wrestling that she learned superheroes could be real.

Determined to become the superhero she'd always admired, AJ trained and sacrificed for years to achieve her dream of wrestling professionally. Yet she quickly faced industry pressure to play the role of the damsel in distress and to dress more provocatively to cater to male fans. But she fought back and created an ass-kicking alter ego that was a genuine representation of herself: nerdy, enthusiastic, and a little bit crazy.

With humor and tremendous heart, AJ opens up about her harrowing struggle to understand her demons. What most people view as a hardship, AJ embraced as inspira-tion for her superhero persona, shattering the stigma attached to mental illness.

Charting her journey from a scrappy girl in an unstable home to an empowered wrestling champion, Crazy Is My Superpower is an un-flinchingly honest story and brave confessional about her long road to self-acceptance.