Something’s Up with Dad: The Highs and Lows of Growing Up with a Bipolar Father

by Nitsan Tal

“For years, the Tank Story was an easy answer to the question ‘Why is your dad like this?’ It portrayed him as a wounded soldier, a hero whose injuries never healed. But the truth was much more complicated than that.”

When he was young, Nitsan’s father was known as a brilliant and adventurous guy. Saul was someone who could talk to anyone about anything, with a bright future ahead of him. But then came the hospitalizations. The disappearances. The debilitating episodes of depression. Growing up, both Nitsan and her sister had front-row seats to their father’s struggle with his bipolar disorder, and to the disease tearing their family apart.

Years later, Nitsan, a budding filmmaker, sets out to tell her father’s story. She finds herself chasing the past—interviewing those who knew him, digging through records, and uncovering conflicting narratives of the same events. What emerges is a complex portrait of a man shaped by trauma, a family torn between love and preservation, and the lifelong intricacies of growing up in the shadow of mental illness.

Told with unflinching honesty, Something’s Up with Dad is a gripping memoir about the impossible reality of bipolar disorder and the toll it takes on the people who long to help their loved ones through it.

259 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 17, 2025

About the author

Nitsan Tal is a veterinarian, photographer, and film director. She grew up in Israel on a kibbutz (a large commune) and later moved to the US. While practicing as a veterinarian in New York, she began taking photography classes—a hobby she had enjoyed since her teenage years. One thing led to another, and in 2013, she directed her first documentary film: It Takes Balls. She has since directed three more documentaries.
Something’s Up with Dad is her first book.

Reviews

[Oded · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, anyone who has a family member or friend with mental illness will surely relate.

[Melinda Monier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional book on Bipolar disorder

I loved how this story was able to give more of the history of her fathers illness and how it affected not only his family but his friends and mainly how he felt about the disorder. I also loved learning more about how mental illness treatment has changed over the last 60 years.

[Rachel Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book via Goodreads giveaway.

3.75 stars. I found this book very interesting - I got a lesson in how Israel as a state came to be, which I knew nothing about, as well as insight into life in mid to late 20th century Israel, and specifically what mental health care was like at that time. I feel there aren’t enough stories about what mental health care was like during different time periods in the US, let alone in other countries, so this was fascinating albeit sad in many ways. The book also offers a very honest personal perspective about being the daughter of someone with a serious mental illness. On the more technical side, this book could have used another editing run-through as there were many spelling errors. I also found myself wishing for a bit more of a satisfying ending; I don’t expect a true life story to have a neatly wrapped ending but the story’s end felt a bit abrupt.

Want to add that I appreciated that despite growing up in Israel herself, the author does not interject any political opinions about Israel/Palestine into the story or attempt to persuade readers on that front in any way; that’s not what this book is about, Israel just happens to be the setting for her family’s story. Regardless of how you feel about Israel’s right to be a state you will be able to enjoy this book.

[Mikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was too far removed from my background and experience to make any meaningful connection in my psyche. I read until halfway through but decided to stop there. Not because I'm uninterested in psychological conditions but because I wasn't sure what the point of reading further would be for me. The storyline meandered. I got the point of the story. Maybe it will appeal more to people with similar connections to the author's.

[ChristiAne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is overall a good introduction to living or being with someone who has bipolar disorder. I haven't quite finished it yet but this type of reading can help a lot especially where professional treatment has holes. It takes more than this book to truly understand this disorder but it is part of the tools that help.

[Harriet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This incredible book deserves a well thought out review and I'm too pressed for time to do so at the moment. I will return later in the day to edit this review. In the meantime please know that I found the book accurate, true to life and well worth the read.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is worth reading if you are interested in how Bipolar Disorder affects families. There are some very dry and uninteresting parts but all in all it is good for a daughter's story of her father.

[Efrat Barak · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important and moving book about the life of a person dealing with bipolar disorder and his family.

[Zoya Fleysher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye opener what kids go through with a parent with mental illness.