Customer Reviews

The Naked Bird Watcher

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Suzy's book, "The Naked Bird Watcher", is an autobiographical account of her struggle with bipolar disorder. It is very well-written and speaks to bipolar and non-bipolar folk alike. What I liked best about the book is that Suzy documents what worked for her and what didn't, something that is important for all mentally ill folks to pay attention to and to work on in our own lives. Suzy's positive approach and hopeful message make this book a must-read.

The new 2004 Cairn edition is revised and contains a great deal of new information about Suzy's recent work in the Mental Health Awareness and Advocacy fields.

I am a psychiatric nurse and have read many books written by service-users about depression but I've never read one that was not depressing. This one is't - what a super book!

Two Women - One Journey of Recovery - Two Perspectives.

From both the patient and her carer there is now rare and unusual insight into mental illness - with both books documenting the journey of recovery. Emotive, yet practical, these books should be read by all affected by mental illness and working within its profession.
Professor Angus Mackay, Scotland.
Claire Letham, Psychiatric Nurse, Scotland

The Naked Bird Watcher by Suzy Johnston, ISBN 0954809203
To Walk on Eggshells by Jean Johnston, ISBN 0954809211

Suzy's autobiography is well-written, engaging, and very readable. She records her struggle with depression and its treatment as a young person. I found it easy to identify with her experience of depression. I recommend this book for anyone currently engaged in the struggle -- it will offer insight, give assurance that they are not alone, and encourage the hope that if Suzy got through so can they.

Mind-Blowing! and humbling! - an amazing but very readable book

I will never again say to anyone 'pull yourself together'. The writer explains so clearly what mental illness is like that you can almost feel it. I laughed at the humour and I cried at the pain. But the fact that she gets better and is well with only odd periods of illness is a lesson for us who do not understand how manic depression operates. She challenges stigma and mental illness in an unusual way and has made me rethink and re-evaluate.
This is a really good read.

An articulate and powerful account, this book gives a vivid account of the pain that is mental illness - she hits the nail on the head in the way she describes it. Make no mistake, the writer has been obviously acutely ill but has managed to regain her health and most importantly, moved forward so that with good support and self-management, a condition such as her manic depression need only be a part her life. It is this positive message which sets this book apart along with her stigma-blowing attitude. All this, and humour, too - some read!

A damn good read! It had me laughing and it had me in tears. It is certainly not a service-user's normal account of depression. It is graphic, informative and gives a clear message of hope. As a support worker I have learned a great deal from reading this while I found it a very readable tale. It was written by an accomplished and talented author.

One of the many devastating weapons that depression wields against its victims is a soul-scouring paralysis that renders them unable to take action of any kind at all. Imagine then the bravery of manic-depressive Suzy Johnston to not only find the spirit to analyse and confront the illness that debilitated her youth, but also to conjure up sufficient energy to commit those experiences to print.
The Naked Bird Watcher is a forthright and honest account of the origins of Suzy's depression and how it blighted an otherwise happy and high-achieving school and university life. The fascinating but horrifying details explained to the lay person who has never had to travel such a dark road include the reactions of Suzy's contemporaries, her friends' inability to differentiate self isolation from haughty exclusion, and in one truly awful account, a tutor failing so spectacularly to understand her student's profound illness that it cost Suzy a possible career in teaching.
In another chilling revelation the author also explains the desire for self-harm in such a clear and direct way that such madness seems to make perfect sense. Cutting herself made Suzy feel something, filling the void that depression had created where sensation of any kind, physical or emotional had all but been extinguished. As she put it, her idea of depression before becoming a sufferer was that she would be sad all the time. The reality of feeling nothing was far greater a torture.

Suzy is not a writer by profession and she has to be hugely congratulated for this first bold foray into writing. The book's true value is in the very fact it was written at all, although perhaps after having read that Suzy managed to graduate despite her illness we shouldn't be that surprised at the astonishing achievement of conceiving, writing and completing a book. If we needed an indication of just what a winner she really is then that surely provides it. Since Ms Johnston's primary goal was to help others gain an insight into the illness and combat stigma, and at the same time help those who might have felt alone and unique in their distress, for that very good reason alone the book is worth its weight in gold. "
Muriel Gray
BBC Broadcaster and writer

I liked this book. I learnt a lot and it helped me understand my son's problems. It is the first book that has given me the hope that things will improve.