Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic Depressive Illness (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author), Gloria Hochman (Contributor) "I knew from a very young age that there was something very wrong with me, but I thought it was just that I was not..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Patty Duke, National Institute of Mental Health (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this groundbreaking guide for those who are manic depressive or who live with or love someone who is, actress Duke ( Call Me Anna ), a spokeswoman for the National Institute of Mental Health, tells the harrowing story of her illness and her long road to recovery. After a lifetime of emotional turbulence, including three divorces and years of unsuccessful therapies, Duke found her own "wonder drug": lithium. Interspersed throughout her personal account are chapters that give the latest information about manic-depressive illness, its many forms and the various treatments for it, as documented by Hochman ( Adult Children of Divorce ). Also included is advice on what families can do to cope and a list of resources for the mentally ill, including organizations that care for them. A chapter examines the connection between creativity and manic depression, drawing examples from music, politics and business. An informative, readable volume.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

Duke tells the story of her manic-depressive illness and its successful treatment, while in alternating chapters medical-writer Hochman (Heart Bypass, 1982) explains the facts of the disease and the methods of treatment currently available. Duke's strange and unhappy childhood was chronicled in Call Me Anna, and is touched on here only to show how fundamentally unloved and rejected she felt. Her manic-depressive disorder began to manifest itself when she was a young woman living in Hollywood, at the peak of her career, starring in The Patty Duke Show. As the illness escalated, her life degenerated into frequent suicide attempts, drug dependency, wrecked relationships, tantrums on the set. She began hallucinating and engaging in bizarre behavior like holding parties in her motel room for hordes of strangers (one of whom she married after a few hours' acquaintance) and hiring two guys she met in a parking lot to manage her finances (with results that can be imagined). Finally, her illness was diagnosed and successfully treated with lithium, which she takes to this day and to which, she says, she owes her present stable, happy marriage and her very life. Hochman provides information on the various forms of depression and the various guises that bipolar (manic-depressive) illness can take, identifies people at risk for these diseases, discusses the link between manic-depressive disorder and creativity, and surveys medical treatments and family-support techniques that can help the sufferer. The tone seesaws between the lurid and the dry, depending on whether Duke or Hochman is writing. But despite its gracelessness, this memoir has merit: Duke shows bravery in telling her story in all its humiliating flagrance, and undoubtedly sufferers from this puzzling and devastating disease will find help in the explanations and resources Hochman diligently provides. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (February 4, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553560727
• ISBN-13: 978-0553560725
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,732 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #20 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Mental Health > Manic Depression
  #55 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Specific Groups > Special Needs
  #92 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Actors & Actresses

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, informative and well-written., January 3, 1998

By	"shawsie" (London, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

Patty Duke has brought bipolar affective disorder (Manic Depression) "out of the closet" and given those with the illness better insight into why they feel the way they do. Co-authoring with a medical writer was a *brilliant* idea. We read Patty's story, then we read the medical side of the story. The only thing I found disturbing was, like Dr Kay Jamison, Patty claims a Lithium a day does the trick. This can be misleading when many bipolars have to have meds assessed and re-assessed many many times. This gives the reader the undertone that if you're not a Lithium-responder, you're not quite right. Otherwise, an excellent book on the topic!

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars finally! Some real answers to all my questions, April 16, 1999

By A Customer

Patty Duke's book A Brilliant Madness is the first real good information about bi-polar disorder I have been able to put my hands on! The medical backup informatiom that Gloria Hochman contributes has given me an almost umlimited list of resources to also turn to. I read this book because my 9yr old son and my current husband are both diagnosed as bi-polar, but as I read this intense book I was amazed by feelings of fear, relief, sadness, and anger. I was able to relate to much of what I read and began to see myself which is scary. I now want to find help for all of us as our area is devoid of support groups and other local means of coping with this illness. This book is truly "Brilliant" in both the writing style and the content and has given me some hope in an otherwise bleak future. I strongly recomend this book to anyone where Manic Depression has touched their lives.

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book changed my life!, December 26, 2000

By	Karla Clippinger (Spanaway, WA USA) - See all my reviews

Several yeas ago I bought this book because I believed my mother had Bipolar dissorder. I read this book and as I read it I realized not only did I see my own mother in this book, but I also saw myself. ALL my life I knew I was "different", and knew something just wasn't right. But when I read about Patty Duke and her own mood swings I knew I had bipolar dissorder. So I went to my doctor and handed him the book and said "I think I have this"...he asked many questions and in the end agreed with me, put me on lithium and from that day forward my life changed. Patty Duke's words saved my life.

Her own story should be an encouragement to all who suffer from this horrible mental illness. She helped to break the stereotypes that go along with mental illness...I thank her for that, and for helping me to finally get a name to what was wrong with me all my life!