Seeking Sister Wife Nailah wrote a book about being bipolar and having gastroparesis

Seeking Sister Wife Season 5 introduces viewers to Naeem Salahuddin and his wife Nailah Salahuddin as the couple shares their story of looking for another marital partner with TLC viewers.

One of the Salahuddins is no stranger to sharing his or her life publicly, and it had nothing to do with polygamy!

Nailah Salahuddin, who actually goes by the name Nailah Davis, has published a book about her struggles being bipolar.

The book is titled Maddened: Musings of a Bipolar Mind, and according to the Amazon listing, it was originally published on Valentine’s Day in 2021.

“Peer through the mind of a woman on a journey through her brain,” reads the description for Maddened from the Amazon page. “Join her as she navigates the many twists and turns of life as a woman living with Bipolar 1 Disorder.”

The book isn’t written in conventional prose, though. “Nailah unveils the secrets of her joys and pains through a not so traditional style of poetry,” the description concludes. If you visit the Amazon listing you can read an excerpt of the book and get a better idea of what it is like.

If you click on Amazon’s author bio for Nailah, it reveals a little bit more about her — including the fact that she was diagnosed with gastroparesis in 2015:

I am Nailah Rabiah Davis and I am a Academic Interventionist. I am a mother of four beautiful children and teaching is how I earn my paycheck. In 2015 I was diagnosed with Gastroparesis which means paralyzed stomach and it set off a series of life changing events in my life that led to a diagnosis of Bipolar 1 with psychosis in 2020. Everyday is a battle to win against my mind and my body, but I welcome the challenge, and I live for the battle.

In August of 2023, Nailah shared a Facebook post with details about her medical issues prior to being diagnosed with gastroparesis:

In 2012 my health slowly began to change, or I should say I slowly became aware of the changes. Until that point they had been small with the exception of having my gallbladder removed and experiencing heartburn often I felt my health was pretty much ok.

In October of 2012 I started to experience extreme pain similar to the pain I had in 2000 with my Gallbladder, but with this pain I was also experiencing nausea, vomiting, bloating, and extreme fatigue. I would go months at a time where I just didn’t want to eat or I would forget to eat because I wasn’t hungry. One particular night of excruciating pain I begged to be taken to the ER. I told them what I was feeling and had the ordinary tests done and sent home with a diagnosis of constipation and GERD.

This night began a series of visits just like that one, doctor after doctor, Cancer Treatment Center of America (that is a story I will share later), a million tests, hospital stays, and no one could help me. I found myself becoming extremely depressed, but I still had to live my life, I still had to work, raise my children, take care of my home, and be a wife.

Nailah also opened up on Facebook in June of last year about her very troubled childhood:

It’s time to tell my story.

I have sat with it for so long and I have felt shame for so long. I will say this again, vulnerability is freeing. I am sharing my story in hopes to help someone else.

I was born to parents who were dysfunctional. My dad beat my mom. I witnessed her being dragged through our house by her hair. This is my first memory of abuse at the age of three. At the age of 3 I was also sexually molested for the first time by my older cousin. I will never forget it. It is a memory burned into my brain. This is the beginning and there’s so much more to come!

Nailah and husband Naeem will be making their TLC debut during the Seeking Sister Wife Season 5 premiere airing at 9/8c on TLC and streaming on Max and Discovery+.

Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com