Depakote and hyponatremia

First, demand that the doctors abide by their Hippocratic oath (first, do no harm). Depakote and lithium are almost worse than the disease. I KNOW! The mood swings can be next to impossible to prevent. For myself, I prefer to control the worst with sedatives as needed. The mood swings are part of who I am. For me, lack of sleep is a definite tell so that I can use some lorazepam to sleep off the worst of the mood swing. You need a cooperative doctor who will help you as a person instead of just another crazy. Sorry.

Well done in general and kind of scary. The legalese is slightly different in terms of what's happening to Elle than it would normally be in Minnesota, but similar. Here, you would have the arrest, then the police would note her to be a danger to self or others (in this case husband & child), and put her on what's called a transportation hold - meaning she then gets taken somewhere where a qualified psych provider (MD, DO or NP - I am not sure if PA's can do this or not) evaluates her.
That initial evaluation (if 'positive' for danger/problems) would then lead to a 72-hour hold (effectively 3 business days as an inpatient - worst time to get put on a 72-hour hold is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving) and then that doc (if s/he sees a problem) can then petition mental health court for commitment. So from my perspective going to a 30-day stay skips a couple of steps, but not all states work the same way.
In a way, your characters are taking this too well. A husband reacting to the CP report by his daycare provider usually doesn't calm down that fast. Likewise a mother hearing that her daughter had been committed. As a psych nurse I would love to see such acceptance and support for my patients.
And on that note - depakote is a pretty good choice, given the likely diagnosis.

I read the story and, frankly, I enjoyed it. It's a given that anytime a woman cheats in one of these tales and a reconciliation occurs then Katie bar the door! The torch the bitch crowd comes out waving their collective pitchforks and scream for blood, not caring or realizing that life is seldom that cut or dried.
The story touched a special place in my heart because I myself am a sufferer of Bi-Polar Syndrome or Manic- Depressive Syndrome, whichever you prefer. The disease is an absolute bitch to deal with, and in my case is further aggravated by a seizure disorder. Fortunately, my medication (Depakote) does a fairly good job handling the mood swings and stops the seizures outright, albeit with a few side effects. Obviously, I first had to wonder if either you or a loved one or acquaintance had the disease.
As I've stated before in comments on other stories, reconciliation IS an alternative in some cases. If a partner is a serial cheater or the cheating was done in a particularly hurtful way with little or no remorse, then only a fool would reconcile. There are circumstances where it happens, the guilty party admits their guilt, and never does it again. While a marriage that endures this is never the same, the relationship can be salvaged. I regrettably transgressed and my wife saw fit to forgive me and stay with me. We will celebrate our Silver Anniversary soon, and no, I have not reoffended.
A well written story with believable characters. Four stars!

Can't believe I did not read and review this. Strawberry definitely qualifies as ditzy, but many times it works for her--and especially regarding the reputation Shanghai girls have.
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While her syntax matches typical Chinese phrasings in English from my experience--and although I understand the addiction to using the word so--that word and several phrases repeat often where many could have stayed but there should have been reduced. Sometimes those about Alan or especially the girl we later discover as his sister Gwen, did interrupt the flow enough to make me stop and refocus. While it hardly sinks the story and no reader would say Strawberry was unjustified in traversing this love-hate view of Alan, I kind of imagine strategic editing would probably have cut half a page.
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It proves funny when the story reveals Gwen and now Strawberry reinterprets. One can understand Pete's behavior, but it's clear he's still taking advantage instead of being the gentleman. While she diffuses the possible conflict, there's no way the other roommates didn't get some idea from their screaming. It remains to be seen if a conflict occurs because really it should or she gets off a little easy and Pete escapes unscathed.
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It surprised me you were somehow unaware of one of the best foods that remedy hangover--especially since Strawberry ate it in ch 1--CONGEE. It's best for absorbing some of the alcohol and rehydrating. Also, ginger (and it's assumed ginger tea) do an excellent job. Chinese homeopaths typically use ginger tea to help prevent colds, although it helps fight nausea, dizziness, and diarrhea. The cups of jasmine tea and Tylenol presented as too hyperbolic, because more than 3,250 mg of that can damage the liver, possibly causing jaundice; had she drank 200 cups of tea, it would have caused her hyponatremia. You researched so many other things that I have to kind of rib you about this by channeling my inner Number Five from the movie Short Circuit, saying this: Chloe Tzang, Ph.d not know this???
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I absolutely loved the end notes you used and of course all of the linguistic elements you fuse to the story. To even culminate the narrative with a communal meal is a very nice touch. You certainly pictured her well according to how Shanghai girls are, as verified by my own research--and the reason why the guys tend to do more in the house is because many Shanghai girls that were the only children by policy never developed many housekeeping skills because their parents allowed them to study to do their best in school, and so the parents did all the housework. This also partially explains Strawberry.
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I enjoyed this edition, especially by liking it. Despite the need to rid the tale of sometimes-excessive repetitions above, it didn't hinder communicating the story, nor did it detract from how entertaining it was. 4