Rating: 
Summary: An Unclosed Mind
Review: Reading this book will help you understand the world of manic depression. It is much more clear to me now, for example, what it means to be depressed- clinically depressed. It is not just being "down" or "sad". I realize now that in the past I may have been somewhat harsh and unsympathetic towards others who were depressed. It's just so easy to say "it will pass," or "take control! get up and do something!" when you don't know. Now I realize that what I used to think was depression is nothing at all like what Jamison- and many others- have experienced. As a result, I hope to be more compassionate, as I now have "An Unclosed Mind" about this illness.
Rating: 
Summary: It's wonderful
Review: I am 15 and my father suffers from manic depression. This book really helped me to understand what he's been through. I highly recommend it to anyone who has manic depression or just wants to know about it. This book really helps to explain things.
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Summary: a breath taking journey to madness
Review: An Uquiet Mind is one of the best books I've read in the last few years. as a psycology student, I read a lot about mood disorders, but this was the first time I came across such an honest confession on the manic depression illness. Kay Radfield Jamison tells the whole story without holding back and by that she takes you on a journey to both sides of the manic depression world - the "high" times, "almost touching the stars", and the bad times that follow - a distructive depression that took her to very dark places. Side by side with the information on the illness - is the honest true story of Jamison's fascinating life as a manic depression with all the good things the illness brought her, and the very bad times that almost cost her with her life. An important book for those who have to deal with manic depression, to those who have it, or just for someone who wants to read a very intersting life story.
Rating: 
Summary: Slightly skewed
Review: A point that i think is missed by many is that this book is, primarily, a memoir. Therefore, it should not be viewed as a self-help book, or as a treaty on mental disorders, or as a guide. Some of us did have a happy childhood and loving families and friends, and Dr. Jamison is entitled to write her memoirs as she sees fit. This said, this book brings forth a very interesting issue, by contrast. She grew up in a most lovable environment and had a terrible time with her disease. If it was that bad and she had a loving family, i can only imagine how bad it is for those who do not have an understanding circle of friends and family, or financial support, or access to top-of-the-line medical care. As a reader explained, this book is "manic-depressive illness for the charmed life". Scientific writing is very straight and does not give any room for artistic license. One would think that Dr. Jamison, being a writer of scientific literature, would have a somewhat dry prose. But as a matter of fact, her writing shows a complete reaction against the constraints of scientific writing rules. Her style could not possibly be more flowery. Every person described in the book gets four or five adjectives tacked on. It got very annoying after a while. We readers would have gotten the point with fewer words. However, there are times when she makes you smile, like when she bought her horse and soon discovered how financially overwhelming that was. What i found most objectionable about the book is the epilogue, where Dr. Jamison admits she would have chosen to be born with the disorder, because it obviously has given her more than it has taken away. If i had any doubts about the horrors of manic depression, they were quickly dissipated after reading this book, yet Dr. Jamison beautifies the disease as something precious and coveted, in obvious contradiction with her previous pages. She mentions that there have been many great artists through history that suffered from manic-depression, and who have made incredible contributions to the world. I am sure that for every manic-depressive painter, musician and writer in history, there have been a million non-manic-depressive painters, musicians and writers of equal value. Nature does not want to produce manic-depressive individuals, the same way that it does not want human beings with faulty heart valves, but sometimes glitches happen in our genetic make-up or our development. Nothing to be ashamed of, but nothing to be proud of either. Also, it is quite selfish of her not to mention what the cost of her illness has been for her family and friends, because i am sure it was not smooth sailing all the way, regardless of how much she was loved by everybody.
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Summary: An Eye Opener!
Review: As the lover of someone who suffers from manic depression, I found this book extremely helpful. Not only does it help me understand what the disorder is, it helped me realize how it is to have it. Her accounts are so vivid and realistic that it's amazing. I definately agree with what she states near the end of the book. Without the love she had, she wouldn't have made it through.
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Summary: Dr. Jamison gets her man, maybe
Review: I have a lot of sympathy for Dr. Jamison. I have the same diagnosis and almost the same profession. I became symptomatic at about the same age as she did. Perhaps all this had me feeling more disappointment at reading her enthusiasm for romance instead of something that I would find more hopeful. The book ends as if the last man is THE ONE. Good for her if he is, but I wouldn't bet my mental health on it. She deserves credit for a title that captures a key feature of what it's like to be bipolar very well. Maybe her book does mirror how much junk floats around my mind in addition to the occasional helpful insight. Her longing to return to the rings of Saturn certainly resonates with me, but she doesn't turn that inside out to talk about what such longing means to her. I would want to know that. I would want to know if there is something better to do with that than put it in a closet. I don't learn anything like that from this book. Patty Duke's book about her illness is sometimes as superficial, but I think I understood her thoughts and feelings about bipolar disorder much better at the end than I did from Dr. Jamison's book. I was surprised at the lack of incisive analysis or soul searching from Dr. Jamison in this book given her academic standing. It's a nice diary, but there's not much to learn about bipolar disorder in it.
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Summary: Manic/Depressive - The Inside View
Review: What's it like to have an incurable, but manageable disease? One that changes your perceptions of the world around you, loosens your inhibitions or cripples your ability to do anything? Kay Redfield Jamison pours out her experience of living with a mood disorder, using descriptive, image-evoking prose. This book contains her life story, told from the point, not just of a disease sufferer, but also from the standpoint of a healer. Dr. Jamison is both. As a psychotherapist & professor of psychiatry, not only did she write a definitive book on the treatment of manic-depressive illness, but she also suffers from the disease herself. We read her first-person account of how the disease snuck into her life. How parts of it were seductive and alluring, how she enjoyed having the extra energy, the industry; but also how that energy would turn to mania, would be damaging. Then we learn how dark, how bleak the downs could be. She exposes her struggle with medication, how she felt it limited her, how difficult it was to find and maintain the correct dose. We learn about the impact of her disease on her relationships. She examines the path of manic-depressive illness in her life and paints a picture for the reader. One cannot put this book down without being touched. If you, or somebody you know, suffers from a mood disorder, this book is =REQUIRED= reading. If you would like a deep insightful read, not only will you enjoy this book, but you'll come away from it with a new appreciation for living with a chemically balanced brain.
Rating:
Summary: An Unquiet Mind
Review: An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison has been the most uplifting book I have ever read and I do most sincerely urge anyone who suffers with manic-depression to read it. It is a fascinating and truly comforting read; suddenly you realise you are not alone. She writes with such clarity and passion that it is almost impossible to put the book down. I do have to say that I admire her enthusiasm for life and her complete frankness in all that she writes. She can only be an inspiration to all who read her. Go ahead, get your hands on a copy and read........
Rating:
Summary: A Fascinating, Emotional Read
Review: Yes, "An Unquiet Mind" is far from a comprehensive textbook on manic-depressive illness; but that's not what the book is about. What it *IS* about is the life of someone blessed with the mind of a master clinician and the soul of a poet. And from this 'right brain' angle, I learned a lot more about the disease than I would from a sterile overview. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Refutation of idiocy
Review: I found this book to be an almost perfect and accurate story of what a manic depressive person goes through. I saw me in those pages. I don't know if Mr. Siller from Houston was reading the same book as me. I guess some peoples own misconceptions about this illness tend to color their opinions. Dr. Jamison is a survivor.
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