If you’re wondering what mania, hypomania, or a mixed state feels like to a person with bipolar disorder, you’ll get your chance to find out when Manic: A Memoir by Terri Cheney hits the bookstores on February 5, 2008. I have read a couple other personal accounts of what living with bipolar disorder is like, and I think Manic captures it best.
Cheney’s description of her fascination with fire made me recall the night when my wife, Cecie, surrounded herself with about 50 candles on our back porch and stayed up until sunrise listening to music… and rummaging through the cabinets in a frantic search for more candles. And a winter night when she danced around the campfire alone at her parents’ cabin drinking wine until she finally stumbled into the flames and had to roll around on the ground to make sure she wasn’t on fire… while I was passed out in bed, exhausted from her high energy bacchanal and my own heavy dose of alcohol.
And those were the “fun” times, the hypomanic states, when Cecie was sharper, funnier, more entertaining, and more seductive than usual. Cheney does an excellent job of describing the allure of hypomania, for both herself and the people around her who are drawn to the passion and excitement. With hypomania, you become the life of the party, but as Cheney points out, the line between life of the party and scary is hair thin. Her descriptions of how she feels when hypomanic prove just how difficult it must be for someone who experiences the highs to feel normal, average, and ultimately boring—and how difficult it must be for them to be around “boring” people, like the rest of us.
Cheney also touches on mixed states, which can be the most painful and dangerous—when mania and depression merge. Mixed states are what I personally find most difficult to deal with as a loved one—when I can do nothing to please the person I love, and when everything I say or do comes under attack. These are the times when everyone in my family is at one another’s throats. It’s as if the bipolar beast has taken over the communal soul for its own entertainment. As Cheney reveals, however, these mixed states are no party for the person who’s experiencing them either. These are the episodes that make people suicidal, homicidal, or just plain infuriated.
Manic is a must read for anyone who has bipolar disorder or has a loved one with bipolar disorder. It’s as close as you can get to experiencing mania yourself. By being brave enough to simply tell her story and describe her feelings and observations, Cheney will do more than most in building understanding and acceptance of bipolar disorder and the people who have been blessed, cursed, and labeled “bipolar.”
To find out more about the book and about Terri Cheney, visit her Web site at TerriCheney.com or order the book online at Amazon.com.
From her many brilliant highs to the depths of her depressive misery Terri Cheney has decided to share with her readers her life with Bipolar illness. The book is by no means chronological, and she admits her memories may not be 100% accurate, due to the extreme fragility of her mental condition on many occasions, but the feeling comes through at more than 100%. She has written a book that is not only extremely engaging and readable, but that will strike a chord of empathy and understanding with people surviving in similar circumstances due to bipolar illness. The lack of chronology is actually a strong point due to the confusing and haphazard nature of the disease. Anyone who has experienced a bout with bipolar will relate to the feeling of the whimsical yet brutal nature of a life coping with this overwhelming bed partner.
After many years with a diagnosis of depression, Terri seems almost elated to be given the new diagnosis of Bipolar illness. She feels at once that she finally has been given validation for what she has been suffering through for so many years. She says, “I believe in this diagnosis. It’s as true to me as being a redhead. Despite the constant shifting of the earth beneath my feet, I feel grounded at last.” She has had the disease, but never been formally introduced to it. The fact that she now has a name to go with this monster opens a relief valve for the years she has lived under a cloud of misdiagnosis.
I am so happy that she decided to share her life, and her many extreme battles with us. She lends hope and light and strength through her words. She may always be a redhead and always have bipolar, but knowing that makes all the difference. The knowledge has set her free, and her freedom shines in her words–though bittersweet, they are welcome, for it is the welcoming home of herself.
Enjoy.
I was wondering if you might consider reviewing my first novel, Hypomanic – Mad In England, A Memoir. http://www.hypomanic.co.uk/
Twelve years ago something happened to me at University which changed my life forever. We all know someone who disappeared or vanished from University. Well, in class of ’95 that person was me. It was a case of too much too young and I lost it, dropped out and had to take a year off. I lost everything. My friends. My girlfriend. My mind. I just had to find the courage to get back. My heart told me I had to do this and if my book saves one student from repeating my mistakes it will be worth all my effort. My journey began in July 2004 and it has taken me two years, nine months and thirteen days to write 136,970 words.
“Written from the point of view of a hedonistic 22 year old student who moves 250 miles south to a new, exciting yet unfamiliar London institution, Hypomanic is a touching account of a young man’s spiraling journey into madness. Its an abbreviated version of a complete nervous breakdown. The novel reveals the frightening truths about the reality of mental illness through his deteriorating relationships with campus friends, enemies and the geographical distance from his family. Essentially it is a story about neglect, loss and redemption. Hypomanic reveals how this mind endured and finally triumphed over tragedy.
An absorbing and exciting read that broadens the range of reader experience. This book is an excellent source for those seeking more information, and it contains reassuring truths for bipolars who are searching for answers and novel ways of coping with the disorder. It is equally gripping as a portrait of the student community at The University of Westminster in the nineties and perhaps the crucial part Kennedy’s friends & family played in his decent into madness and eventual recovery.”
I didn’t start writing until nearly ten years post event to deal with what happened and for the full story to unfold. It was one thing living through it. It was another thing revisiting it all. Sometimes people judge me like I am not a rounded individual. This type of thing doesn’t happen to someone with ‘sense’. It forces you to be rounded and balanced. You wouldn’t survive otherwise. A ‘Nervous Breakdown’ implies you are weak. You are not. In fact, you are stronger for having gone through it.
I’ve been trying to rejoin the human race for the last twelve years. It’s been the biggest battle of my life. I’ve followed the red brick road instead of the yellow one but I still got here eventually. So where is here? Here is where the comfort of being content and well balanced is more important than anything else. I’ve learned the hard way and I know that wisdom is probably the ability to cope.
Stay nimble of heart, happy of thought, healthy of mind and well in being.
Best wishes,
Victor