Rating: 
Summary: The title should be "How to act so others react the way ....
Review: "How to act so others react the way you want" Julie Fast has written a well researched and comprehensive "action plan" for not only dealing with biolar disorder but really for just dealing with realtionships. I bought the book because of an interest in the disorder and have begun to use the action plans and ideas with my husband and 11 yr old son, neither of whom are bipolar. What a difference it has made in our day to day lives.
The highlights ofthis book are:
1) Informative while being friendly, funny and non-textbook
2) accurate enough to bring you to tears
3) Short enough that one can read it in a day and start using the action plans right away
4) There are no complicated steps or hoops to jump through - her Health Cards system is simple and is really just a different way of dealing with things we normally do every day.
Anyone careing for an ill person, a behaviourly challenged person (children included) or a difficult relationship would benefit greatly from rading this book.
One final note: My husband who is a special needs Teacher has said implementing the action plans in this book in his classroom have made life much less stressful for everyone!
Rating:
Summary: Straight talk, real help!
Review: After several years of living with a bipolar disorder person, and consulting every book, article, and medical journal I could find, as well as consulting with psychiatrists, psychologists, and support groups, I can truly say that Julie Fast and John Preston have done an outstanding job of creating the most comprehensive resource to date for friends and families of loved ones suffering with bipolar disorder. They have spelled out very frankly the subtelties that indicate a mood change is coming on and the chaos and horrors that can befall the vicitms of mania and depression. Their guidance gives the reader the necessary information to help, yet counsels a compassionate response. Objective, knowledgabe helpers can be a lifeline to their loved ones when they are ill. I have never seen this much information and level of detail in one place before. It has taken me years to collect this volume of information, some of it at a a very dear cost -- here it is in one book. If you love someone with bipolar disorder, buy and read this book -- every person in my family is getting their own copy. Many thanks to Fast and Preston!
Rating:
Summary: for families, too
Review: An excellent source of information for both families and couples. Because the authors don't sugarcoat bipolar disorder, and the far reaching effects it can have on the most important people in our lives, this is superb book that gives the reader coping strategies as well as encouragement.
Rating:
Summary: loving someone with bipolar disorder
Review: excellent book!
first one of its kind.you can always find books on bipolar disorder and the medical terms etc., but this one shows you what to do in a situation when you deal with a bipolar partner or friend.a book you can share together when the time is right, and help keep bipolar in check.excellent exercises to try.
advice from an author who has and has dealt with bipolar and really knows what it's like.
highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: This book misses the point
Review: I agree with "Georgie". This book is really not about how to live with someone with bipolar disorder, but how to enable them to continue their destructive behavior. The issue of personal responsibility is almost totally overlooked. I don't understand why a person with BP should be exempt from taking responsibility for their illness, any less than someone with diabetes, or high cholesterol or any of the other "manageable illnesses" that people are fond of equating with BP. It's an illness, not an excuse!!!
I have a mental illness myself and never in any of the self-help books that I've read addressing my disorder have I been given permission to act horribly around my loved ones because I "can't help it". I believe this book, written by someone with bipolar disorder, is trying to address the "silent victims" of this illness, and I give her props for that. However, I don't feel that she's the one who should be writing a book for the partners of bipolar people. Her perspective would be useful as a part of a larger book addressing the issue, but not as the sole voice for those of us who struggle every day with a partner who inadvertantly drags us along for the rollercoaster ride of emotions.
Quite simply, the author has no idea what it's like to live with a bipolar spouse (disregarding the fact that her husband is also bipolar) and have to be the "sane" one in the marriage. I do not think that "Georgie" is being heartless in his/her review, but pointing out the one serious flaw in this book and it's a big one. As the wife of a bipolar man, I look forward to the day when the spouses of bipolar people are given a better alternative than to be their partner's personal doormat.
Rating:
Summary: DO NOT Buy This Book for Your Spouse if You Are Bipolar
Review: I bought this for my husband after being diagnosed as bipolar type II thinking it would help him understand the diagnosis.
It was literally one of the BIGGEST MISTAKES I have ever made in my life.
This book gave my husband the complete wrong idea about the disorder and caused him to completely freak out. The section on financial management was especially bad -- it caused my husband to demand I hand over all of my credit cards to him, insist that I was not allowed to go to the store alone, and if a solo store trip could not be helped, then I was to show him the receipts and indicate everything I bought and how much it cost. I was also to explain why I bought everything and why we needed it. This was all because this book said the non-bipolar person in the relationship would have to take responsibility for finances, otherwise the bipolar one would run the family into the ground by going on manic spending sprees, spending $30,000 at a time without a care in the world. It neglected to mention that (a) not all bipolars present this way, and that (b) people with bipolar II disorder, like myself, rarely if ever get so manic that they would do something like this. However, the language in the book was so convincing that despite the fact that I have never overspent in the years I've known my husband, he believed it and did this to me anyway.
Instead of helping us, this book took away all of my self confidence, made my husband treat me like an incompetent child, and made me think of divorcing him for the first time in our marriage. It's a good thing I'm in therapy because it has taken several in-depth sessions to undo all the damage this book has done.
Do not get it. Just DON'T.
Rating: 
Summary: Give Julie a break
Review: I cannot believe the number of people who are being so negative about an honestly written book by someone who (hello) has bipolar herself. Maybe some of the comments about bipolar II are true, and could have been more specific. The book helped me as I am bipolar. It also helped my family understand how I think, and why I may do the things I do. I believe she (Julie)became sick while writing this book because she was so stressed out. If anyone who is truly bipolar or loves someone who is, will understand.
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Summary: My wife has bipolar disorder
Review: I confess I have not read the book but have ordered it. I was thinking of writing a book on this myself and here it is already. Perhaps our story is more like a movie than a book. Anyway, my wife was diagnosed with BP shortly after our first child was born in 94 and our marriage has survived the last 10 years through 10 lengthy hospitalizations, two more children, attention deficit disorder in 1 possibly two children, dylexia, and me getting arrested and spending several nights in jail for crazy stuff thanks to my wife's overreaction to some situations. Despite all the hardships, my wife and I plan to read the book together and get through the rough spots of family life and enjoy life as a family. It often takes the other partner to become almost saintly from my experience and if that is what it takes, then you have to do it.
Rating:
Summary: Holding the bipolar spouse & partner responsible !!
Review: I have been married to a BP for almost 12 years and this book put many of my feelings into writing. I had a problem with the chapter on finances as I think it should have been made more clear that Bipolar II people generally do not have A problem with spending sprees and mania. Also, I think the book presented a lot of extreme cases, i.e. multiple hospitalizations and being unable to work and have sex. BUT I think with that aside, the book has some great practical ideas for management.
Rating:
Summary: Much Needed Excellent Book
Review: I'm the webowner of Bipolar Disorder Today. This book is full of information and support for both the consumer and family member. If you are a family member feeling lost on what to do, get this book. You can help the person you love with this very painful disorder. You can work together with them using the tools in this book. Full of excellent information. I recommend this to everyone who loves someone with bipolar disorder. It may just save your relationship!
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