Rating: 
Summary: An empathy of experiences
Review: As somebody who has experienced some of what the author has experienced, I came quickly to appreciate the rich candor of her writings, the deep insights and often the ironic humour that came with the book. I found myself awakened with new insights to some of my own experiences. As much as I found some parts of her book to be troubling I also found them to be enriching despite the darkness. Certainly when Kay wrote of her more wonderful experiences I was heartened not just for her but for the possibilities of all of us who suffer from her condition. I found her couragious acceptance of her quiet new life to be in many ways most amazing. Her words have given me insights into my own resistance to taking medication that are still bringing up new possibilities and awarenesses with me. I am now seeking to read more of Kay's publications and have recommended this book to many people.
Rating:
Summary: Made me understand...
Review: This book ,made me understand what Bipolar illness is about and what someone personally goes through. As someone with the illness, I highly recommend this book to anyone who has Bipolar or a family member with it. It helped my family understand my actions, thoughts, etc. as well.
Rating:
Summary: A Touching Memoir
Review: Although I appear to be in the minority as I conclude that lithium has not, interfered with my creativity or my health as I take a controlled release form known apparently as eskalith; I am as well "a good responder." An Unquiet Mind was brilliant in its eloquence and its honesty, as well as its sheer utility in comprehending the ravaging disease, though no one can as well convey madness better than the poets and writers. I would like to mention to Ms. Jamison that I admire people no more than those who have creative brilliance and struggle with the maelstrom of madness, while helping others thereby with talent and guidance. Allow me to concede that Ms. Jamison's writing about mood disorders and the various impact they have had on society is stunning. I fear as well, as Jamison mentions toward the book's end, that, among genetic assumptions, manic-depressives may be "an endangered species," and that of whom have exercized enormous impact upon society. As I read as well Touched with Fire I seem to conclude that the elimination of manic-depression would lead to an irrevocable disaster in various communities.
Rating: 
Summary: simplistic overview
Review: Poorly written, although a good story of a woman's struggle with mental illness. I think she simplified what living with bipolar illness is like. It's more complicated than just going up and down in moods. The book disappointed me.
Rating:
Summary: She knows me, and others who are lost in bipolar disorder
Review: Ms. Jamison, I found your books and they saved my life. I have ultra-rapid-cycling bipolar affective disorder, and without your books I would have lost my sanity years ago. You have shown that there is a different way to think of this disorder, that there is great hope of overcoming the life-chaos it imposes on us, and that we are not sentenced to a lifetime of misery. I am so grateful for this, and Night Falls Fast, and Manic Depression and Creativity. I am, by the way, an artist. What else?
Rating: 
Summary: Fluff take on Tough Stuff
Review: Jamison's book wraps this "descent into hell" with a tidy bow. The path of a bi-polar sufferer is strewn with emotional human carnage that both the sufferer and the victims must endure...and no one touched by it is ever the same again.
To know how manic depression can ravage individuals and families is to know what a truly fragile species we are.
New meds are a great help, but it's a long,tough road for all involved. Her tale is a bit fluffy for any but the unititiated...
Rating:
Summary: if you know anybody bipolar read this
Review: if you know anybody who is bipolar and you care about them at all, them you should read this book. actually, you should probably read it twice. it will make understanding and being around your loved ones when they are in one of their wild moods and violent temper tantrums. it will make it all easier to deal with because you will understanding why these things happen and what you can do to make the person feel better. or at least thats what i got out of this book. i really liked it and would recomend it to anybody who knows somebody who is bipolar.
Rating: 
Summary: A learned account of manic depression
Review: This is an autobiographical account of the study and experience of manic depression, also called bipolar disorder. Described as "a foremost authority on manic-depressive illness" the author both studies and lives with the disorder. She writes with clarity and sincerity. Her work is notable for its absence of the self-pity which sometimes leads you to guiltily disliking other suffering writers such as Sylvia Plath. Another plus of this account is that it is written in modern terms and with reference to modern diagnostic systems (DSM-IV) and treatments.Redfield Jamison gives you an insight into what it is like to live with such a disorder, but being a clinician herself, and having authored textbooks on the subject, she includes clinical details in a judicious way. A vital part of her account is that it conveys her sense that manic depression is not just a disease to be cured. She describes her hypomanic episodes as some of her most exhilarating times, so that the reader can recognise the value in the disorder, but also envy this unique experience: what normal mind can fly past Saturn and its moons? "The intensity, glory, and absolute assuredness of the mind's flight made it very difficult for me to believe, once I was better, that the illness was one I should willingly give up." It is in this description that you can begin to understand in some small way, what makes her and others so resistant to obediently taking the prescribed medication which, despite being very effective, brings with it side effects and takes the - to outsiders inappropriate and maladaptive, but to the sufferer alluring and addictive - mania away. She balances the account with the true depths of depression that inevitably follow the mania and with a frightening account of herself in the throes of psychosis and her pervasive suicidal thoughts and eventual attempt. You can see that somehow she has, throughout it all, managed to become a highly effective clinician and researcher, and you respect her. Yet another value in this account is that she conveys a true sense of warmth and gratitude to her family, lovers, colleagues and psychiatrists who have endured her and supported her through her illness. This becomes a book which is not just one for students, but can be recommended to patients and their long suffering families. Finally, it is an important book because Redfield Jamison acknowledges the fear of being exposed as a psychiatric patient within the medical profession. Her message to students and doctors with mental illness and drug or alcohol habits is that they should not be afraid of seeking help. With many strengths and a sound pedigree, this book is ideal for anyone with an enduring interest in the human mind and for anyone who enjoys gaining insight through reading personal accounts of illness and disorder.
Rating:
Summary: So True
Review: As I read Kay Jamison's book I could put myself into every senario. As someone who lives with bi-polar It truly helped me to understand that a lot of my action and moods are related to the illness. The book gave me hope for one day learning to cope instead of succumb.
Rating:
Summary: Celebrating medicine
Review: I'll let the back of the book speak for itself. Kay exposes a lot of very personal details about her life in this courageous book, but it wasn't my style of biography because she kept coming back to the same theme: take your meds if you want to be "normal." I think her exploration of manic depression was a bit limited here because there are many other theories of mania that treat it less as a disease and more as a way of coping with a fast-paced, ever-changing world. Her next book is better.
|
