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Yes, that's Jane Pauley in your living room again, and no, you're not seeing things. The former anchor of NBC's Today Show, Nightly News and Dateline, who had been on sabbatical since her 2003 primetime "farewell" special, Jane Pauley: Signing Off, is back as host of her own daytime talkfest, The Jane Pauley Show. What's more, she's engaging the country with the same charm, wit and insight that made her one of the country's most favorite broadcast journalists. Pauley may have interviewed politicians, rock stars and world leaders, and even married sassy Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau, but she remained the next-door neighbor you always wish you'd had. Her return to television in a more relaxed format, however, has been no ordinary celebrity comeback: this season's Jane Pauley has a different story to tell—her own.

Ignoring the stigma still attached to mental illness, Pauley chose to introduce this segment of her professional life, and her new show, by revealing her diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Ever a woman of integrity, she couldn't justify moderating a daily talk show and not offering support and options to her broad and diverse fan base.

"…I have been most fascinated by stories about real lives, whether they involved celebrities or ordinary people," says Pauley. "About choices people have made, and why they made them. Our choices tell a story, and by sharing our stories we can see new options and learn to make better choices…both large and small."

Pauley's current Random House bestseller, Skywriting: A Life Out of the Blue, was one of those "large" choices. She decided to let it fill in the blanks of the story she would share with Stone Philips during her guest spot on Dateline this past September, and on her own show. In Skywriting, Pauley talks about her father's secret drinking and about the hives that mysteriously plagued her every seven years until the age of 21, then disappeared as inexplicably as they'd arrived until she was about 49 (seven times seven) when they returned yet again. She was treated with steroids and suddenly found herself in a revved-up, high-energy mood. When she had a reaction to the steroids and her throat began to swell, Pauley was picked up by an ambulance and a fire truck for an emergency visit to the hospital. She remembers the evening, being rushed off by the ambulance, and a rather ironic thought: "Make way! Make way! Hives!"

After months on steroids, Pauley found herself feeling depressed. Unfortunately, she says, the medication she received for what her doctors thought was a uni-polar depression apparently triggered hypomania, a milder form of mania. When she went out impulsively and bought a house, then reported suicidal thoughts to her doctor, the diagnosis of bipolar disorder was made and Pauley was admitted for a psychiatric stay. She was told that bipolar disorder frequently runs in families, but she wasn't able to trace it in hers. When she thought about her rather sedate Indiana family tree, she said, "The idea of mania in my family is almost laughable."

Eventually Pauley began laughing again too and used humor to gain perspective; she decided not to dwell on the diagnosis. Under careful scrutiny, she took medication that was now adjusted to include lithium, became much more interested in stabilizing her supportive, but by now harried family, and got on with her life's work.

Pauley has offered her services to major mental health organizations and uses her talk show as a platform for mental health, family and lifestyle topics important to her and her daytime audience. She's had her sister Ann as a guest on her show and when asked by her Indianapolis hometown television station, WISH-TV, if she'd invite other family members as well, Pauley said, "If my daughter could work it out, she would [come on]; the show would also be named for her…."

That's Jane Pauley talking—respected broadcaster, wife, mom and bipolar patient. That's also more of the wise and understated humor that's helping to keep her well. Jane Pauley is most certainly back.