Introduction : The biology of everyday life -- Author's prologue : Catherine's story ; John's story -- The noisy brain -- The biology of being "difficult" : masked depression -- The pathology of elation : the hypomanic personality -- Adults who tantrum : intermittent rage disorder -- Prisoners of the present : mild attention deficit disorder -- Autistic echoes -- The hidden epidemic : attention "surplus" disorders : shadow forms of OCD, addiction, and anxiety -- Care and feeding of the brain.