Customer Reviews

Detour : My Bipolar Road Trip in 4-D

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Lizzie Simon experienced her first manic-depressive episode at age 17 in her senior year of high school while studying in Paris. It happened after she received early acceptance to Columbia University. Simon, now a 1998 graduate of Columbia University, quit her $900 a week job as creative producer of New York's Flea Theater at age 23, immediately after she helped them win the esteemed Obie Award. She had unresolved issues in her life, unexplored feelings left behind from the scary time in high school when her mind fell apart and was restored again with Lithium. She went away to college, sought and found success, and the subject of her daily battles with her life-saving pills never came up. She longed for closure. She searched for her sign, her way out.
"I kept receiving signs telling me I had other work to do. It was as if success had made a lot of noise in my head go away about being successful. I wasn't screeching at myself to make more and more. I wasn't basking in the public attention I was receiving or gloating through the streets of Tribecca. No, all of a sudden, it seemed things go really quiet in my head. I longed for a new direction, a new devotion. And then the signs emerged. The detour, my detour, lay ahead," she writes in Detour.
Then, she saw the sign. As she rode the subway back to her Brooklyn apartment, she saw a sign with a woman in a business suit. In big lettering over the woman it read, "For Mentally Illness, Treatment is Working". A few days later in the NYPress' "Best Of" section a commentary was written calling the ad "Best Scary Subway" ad of the year. The stigmatization and prejudice shown on behalf of the Press' editors moved her to write and send an editorial. From this editorial, spawned ideas for a new project aiming at de-stigmatizing mental illness and at the same time unite young sufferers.
"I am creating this project for the terrorized seventeen-year-old who has just been through hell and back. She's on the precipice of the rest of her life but she doesn't have the faith to know it, because all she can see, all anybody is showing her, is the dead end she feels surrounding her. I am making this journey for her, to help her through this, the hardest time in her life...I think she's worth my time, my energy, my art, and my honesty, because I think if she breaks through she'll change the world," she writes.
Detour began another part of her journey with this illness. She interviewed six other young successful people with bipolar disorder all between ages 16 and 30 chronicling their stories and asking them for advice on how they cope and deal with parents, coworkers, teachers, and friends. The story takes place in Simon's fathers's white SUV as she cruises from her parent's home in Rhode Island down the East Coast and out to California in search of her herd-her herd of other successful, high-functioning young people with mood disorders like herself. Along the way, she meets some odd characters, courageous souls, and battles terrifying existential woes, which almost cause her to abandon her quest and go home. She even adds some spice by including her love affair with a bipolar drug addict and fellow New Yorker throughout her book project.
Simon sketches with simplicity, portraying her six interviewees with honesty and sheer determination to survive and even thrive. Her empathetic interviews with other young bipolars as well as her witty insights into her own story make the book come alive. This book defines a beginning in a whole new genre of fiction and creative nonfiction about young people and mental illness. This is a must-have for every young person, their doctor, their friends, and their school counselors.
In 2002, Simon served as an assistant field producer for the MTV special "True Life: I'm Bipolar," which was inspired by Detour and HBO recently optioned for the rights to make the movie.
A recipient of a grant from the Federation for Families for Children's Mental Health, Simon is a frequent guest speaker and freelance writer. She also teaches creative writing classes and is working on a novel with a character who loses her brother to suicide. You can visit her web site at www.lizziesimon.com.

Lizzie Simon's life seemed perfect, with the exception of a genetic predisposition to being bipolar. She begins the book by detailing the day that she had a real "break" and the full impact of her illness seemed to kick in. Up until that point, nobody knew that she had bipolar disorder, though it ran in the family. It is pretty amazing how much she's accomplished in spite of her illness, and, at the age of 23, she was inspired to travel cross-country to interview other people living with bipolar disorder who were leading successful lives.

The inspiration came from an advertisement for integrated people with mental illnesses into the workplace, which definitely had a profound effect on Lizzie, because it dispelled the myth that there has to be a huge social stigma attached to having mental illness. However, when she read a "critique" in a local newspaper which discounted the ad and everyone living with any kind of mental illness (with a good dose of insensitivity and mean-spiritedness), it served as a catalyst for the road trip documented in the book. It's definitely inspiring to read how the author actually attempted to correct the negative effect of something that offended and upset her, which is something most of us do not have the courage to do.

Additionally, reading the personal stories of the young people who happen to be bipolar is moving, especially reading about how utterly depressed and sometimes even suicidal some of these kids were. That really demonstrates how powerful the genetic component of this illness is and it's truly sad how long it took many of them to be properly diagnosed.

I definitely think this was a admirable project and the author is obviously a great role model not just to others suffering from bipolar disorder, but also for anyone who feels strongly about a "cause" but has never been moved to action.

I guess the only problem I had with the book was that the writing style felt a bit abrupt at times and was really kind of short in length... It seemed like there was more to say.

I liked this book because it helped me understand other people's bipolar manic and depressive situations. I manage this disorder myself and this book helped me see that others have similar experiences. Also, the medications mentioned in the book helped me to see that there are a variety of ways to medically manage the disorder. I gave my copy to my Mom which I hope she reads someday so she can better understand what I've been through when I was manic.

I initially enjoyed this book. I could relate to Lizzy's first manic episode and the emotions she experienced. I can also relate to her summation of support groups as being nothing more than whinefests where people with bipolar disorder share dangerously inaccurate information. As I kept on reading, though, I got more irritated. Lizzie states in her book that she took lithium for two days following her most severe episode and her symptoms went away. She has contempt for those of us who struggle with medications that don't work nearly as well for us as they did for her and labels us as "coping" rather than "living up to our potential". Apparently she is still too undereducated about the illness to know that a person who is treated easily and quickly (two days) is in the minority of those who share the bipolar diagnosis; the average length of time to find a successful medication "cocktail" is seven years. She also has a very narrow definition of "success" for a person with bipolar disorder. I hope as she grows older she opens her mind to the fact that "success" does not always involve holding a high-end job. I consider myself to be highly successful in the management of my illness, the raising of my children and having a happy marriage, despite the fact that have a difficult-to-treat form of rapid-cycling bipolar disorder that is disabling and getting worse as I age.
I did enjoy this book much more than any other books written by people with bipolar disorder. I agree with Lizzy that people with a true diagnosis of bipolar disorder can only be treated with medication (although the mentally ill in America are seriously misdiagnosed and overmedicated at an alarming rate.) I can also appreciate that other than a poor choice of boyfriend, (Lizzy chose a drug-addicted, untreated bipolar to have a romance with) she does appear to be proactive about her illness, rather than letting it rule her or using it as an excuse for poor choices.

Lizzie Simon had everything except peace of mind. Having been diagnosed during her teenage years with bipolar disorder, she'd never quite come to grips with her condition and felt misunderstood and unable to live the normal life she craved. So she took off to travel and found her way home. Detour is a fast-paced memoir, unlike most in this genre of self-absorption, and manages to demystify the aura of mental illness.
It's good, really good.

A friend of mine insisted I read this book, knowing I was in a serious downward spiral cycle and desperately needed to come out of it. I wish I read this years ago.

I am 27 years old and was diagnosed with bi-polar two years ago. I am a mother of two. My eldest is nine and my youngest a year and a half. For a long while, years, I was successful. I worked two jobs, went to school, managed a law firm, became a paralegal, did criminal defense, passed the LSAT, all the while being a mother and of course, sabotaging every relationship I had, eventual spiraling out of control, ... you get the idea, I'm sure.

Because of this book, I am now on the right track. I had talked myself completely out of my diagnosis, as a result becoming much more insane and out of control, until one day I decided to just crack the book...see what my friend was raving about. Lizzie's description of her breakdown, the way her mind and body felt adjusting to the drugs, being paranoid--it was like she was writing my life, and she really understood. I knew then that I had to get back on medication and stop self medicating. It took time but I did. I've been taking my Lithium close to everyday. My life is completely changing. My "prognosis" as my doctor described in a report I got a copy of in my medical records, was fair to poor. But, now I think it's looking like I could do something with my life, and most importantly I am a great mother again. I think every family member should be required to read this book, in hopes they would understand a bit better.

In response to my drastic change my son recently commented, "Mom, I can tell your medicine is working, because you're my mom again. You're starting to do all the things you used to that make me know you love me."

So please, if you are bi-polar, think you might be, have been told you are, or have a family member or friend that is, you must read this book. It will change your perspective completely, and may even change your life.

Lizzie is courageous & heroic! Her memoir of a young woman struggling with bipolar disorder is not only brilliantly & creatively written, but it's incredibly inspiring!!!

At age 18 I walked out of a hospital with the diagnosis of Bipolar I Disorder. I searched for a book to relate to on this topic but found nothing. All the books I picked up were written by celebrities with markedly different lifestyles or were so academic they went over my head. Years later I found Detour! Reading Lizzie's story and the others she met on the way, was like breathing huge sigh of relief. Because of stigma not many people wave the bipolar flag and say "look at me I'm bipolar." I look at having bipolar as a gift of heightened senses, and Detour reinforced that belief and gave me pride in knowing others felt the same way. In addition Detour does not shy away from pointing out the extreme dangers that come from not addressing the seriousness of bipolar disorder. I would recommend Detour to anyone interested in mental illness as well as those interested in a story of inspiration!

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in the summer of 2007, at the age of 41 after being hospitalised. In the years prior, I struggled with depression, extreme emotional turmoil, and a precise feeling of not fitting in, of not feeling normal. After I was discharged from the hospital I sought out books that I knew to be out there regarding others and their experience with bipolar disorder to sort of get a handle on what I might be dealing up against. While Ms. Simon writes from the perspective of an intelligent, beautiful, talented young woman in the glow of her youth, I felt a resonance with her stories and encounters that make up "Detour". She visits with several other people she meets on a sort of mental health road trip and compares notes. Out of that came a dialog of the diffences, similarities, and ultimately the uniqueness of each person's bipolar disorder. If you or someone you love is struggling with an understanding of bipolar disorder, Lizzie Simon's book, "Detour: My Bipolar Road Trip in 4-D" is essential to fascilitating your awareness.

I absolutely love this book! When one reads about bipolar, it is usually medical information describing the characteristics and treatments of and for this illness. This raw engaging view from a wise young woman gives the reader a first hand view of the interior landscape of bipolar illness. We go on a journey of discovery with Lizzie. And an amazing journey it is. There is so much misinformation and stigma on mental illness. This book helps to bring forth the reality of the illness and gives one hope. There is still much to unfold in the arena of mental illness, but it is like any other illness, it is an illness! It's so stigmatized because there are so many unknowns. Do we stigmatize cancer, epilepsy, diabetes?! I have a friend who is bipolar and have always struggled to understand it and now the door has opened. I am also currently in the wake of standing by another individual struggling with this illness and have gained greater compassion and coping skills from this book. My own family has a lineage of mental illness, though no one ever truly "coped" with it. I grew up in fear and misunderstanding. Thank you Lizzie for bringing forth truth, understanding and demystifying as best as possible the land of bipolar! This is truly a must read!