AN UNQUIET MIND (Kay Redfield Jamison)

I think that most of us, no matter how compassionate or empathetic, have a tendency sometimes to want to view mental illness as some sort of character flaw.  I don't think this is deliberate, but rather a subconscious effort to convince ourselves that it won't happen to us or to ours if we are aware enough, strong enough, determined enough.  Unfortunately, this isn't the case.  In this powerful memoir, which, in my opinion, should be required reading for evertone, Jamison relates in painful detail her lifelong battle with bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness.

I always wondered why people who are bipolar often seem to have problems with taking medication. Do you remember on the TV show ER, when Abby's mother, played by Sally Field, showed up for a visit?  That character, who suffered severely from bipolar disorder, preferred not to medicate herself and the consequences were devastating to herself and her daughter?  She missed the highs, the creativity, the soaring mood, the intense happiness, and hated the flat sameness of her life while on medication.  What ER didn't tell us (being an entertainment show, albeit a medical one), is that bipolar will worsen over time, the manias becoming higher and  the depressions deeper, unless controlled by medications.  Jamison's struggle with the disorder is both heartbreaking and inspiring.  She exhibits incredible bravery in sharing the story of her life, including her difficulties with adjusting to lithium, her attempt to commit suicide by overdosing on the drug that ultimately saved her life, the breakdown of her first marriage, the death of a man with whom she expected to spend her life, and her quandary over the ethics of possibly having bipolar children.  Jamison exposes both the ugliness and beauty of being bipolar through her first-person account.  After reading this I feel that I understand much more than I ever did about living with mental illness.  It's scary to see it from the inside out, and family and friend support is essential to survival in many cases. If you know someone who is struggling to live with bipolar disorder, please read this book.