An astonishing dispatch from inside the belly of bipolar disorder, reflecting major new insights When Marya Hornbacher published her first book, Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia, she did not yet have the piece of shattering knowledge that would finally make sense of the chaos of her life. At age twenty-four, Hornbacher was diagnosed with Type I rapid-cycle bipolar, the most severe form of bipolar disorder. In Madness, in her trademark wry and utterly self-revealing voice, Hornbacher tells her new story. Through scenes of astonishing visceral and emotional power, she takes us inside her own desperate attempts to counteract violently careening mood swings by self-starvation, substance abuse, numbing sex, and self-mutilation. How Hornbacher fights her way up from a madness that all but destroys her, and what it is like to live in a difficult and sometimes beautiful life and marriage -- where bipolar always beckons -- is at the center of this brave and heart-stopping memoir. Madness delivers the revelation that Hornbacher is not alone: millions of people in America today are struggling with a variety of disorders that may disguise their bipolar disease. And Hornbacher's fiercely self-aware portrait of her own bipolar as early as age four will powerfully change, too, the current debate on whether bipolar in children actually exists. Ten years after Kay Redfield Jamison's An Unquiet Mind, this storm of a memoir will revolutionize our understanding of bipolar disorder.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
A Riveting Memoir:
Madness: A Bipolar Life is a riveting memoir about the most severe form of bipolar disorder called: Rapid Cycling Type 1. She describes her struggles with the demons she faces every day, wavering between madness and deep bouts of depression. As early as the age of 4 Marya Hornbacher was unable to sleep and night and talked endlessly. Once she was in school, other children called her crazy. By the age of 10 she discovered alcohol helped her mood swings, and by age 14, she was trading sex for pills. In... more info
Honest and Open:
Very, very honest account of the most graphic forms of bipolar 1. Unfortunately skims over a lot of information, giving vague accounts of areas she views as links from one episode to another, but which could explain much if she went into more detail. All in all, a good read. **WARNING** Can be triggering to sensitive readers.
Did you like Wasted? Well, this may not be for you.:
I was surpised upon reading Madness that it seemed practically to be written by a different author, because it is so different than Wasted. Reading Madness feels almost like an experience of mania itself. While Wasted featured thoughtful, eloquent, and introspective prose, Madness is larged bogged in physical, visceral emotions... which frankly gets repetitive. Compared to Wasted, Madness just didn't seem thoughtfully written. It's easy to empathize with the author, but as a reader, the experience is... more info
Excellent Book:
Hornbacher's book is an excellent portrayal of bipolar disorder. She has done all of us with bipolar disease a favor by publishing her story. Unlike some of the books out there, her story is both compelling and honest, not merely a bid for attention. Well done, Marya!
