Mimi Baird had not seen or heard from her father since the Harvard-trained physician, tormented by severe bipolar disease, walked away from his family when she was 5 years old. Then, when she was in her mid-50s, a mysterious box arrived at her door.
Sent by a relative, it contained a memoir her father had written in longhand documenting five horrible months of his life. Baird spent two decades tracking down the rest of her father’s story. The result is a remarkable book published last year.
Baird, a retired medical administrator, will discuss He Wanted the Moon: The Madness and Medical Genius of Dr. Perry Baird, and His Daughter’s Quest to Know Him, beginning at 7 p.m. April 19 at the Adventure Science Center, 800 Fort Negley Blvd.
A book signing will follow the talk, which is sponsored by the Vanderbilt/NIMH Silvio O. Conte Center for Neuroscience Research. The center is supported by the National Institute for Mental Health and Vanderbilt University.
The talk is free and open to the public. Attendees are invited to register in advance by visiting http://www.eventbrite.com and searching for Mimi Baird.
For more information, contact Conte Center program manager Denise Malone at (615) 936-1898 or denise.malone@vanderbilt.edu.