The Pits and the Pendulum: A Life with Bipolar Disorder (Paperback)

by Brian Adams (Author) "Manic depression can simply be described as a psychiatric illness which causes extreme swings in mood..." (more)
Key Phrases: acute ward, ward manager, ward office, The Pits, Christopher Columbus, Alexander the Great (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Writing a prize-winning play; spending a week doing nothing but build Lego constructions; sinking all his savings into wildly impractical money-making schemes - these are just some results of the periods of intense energy Brian Adams has experienced. As a sufferer of bipolar disorder, he has also been hospitalized several times with debilitating depression and undergone electric shock treatment, and gained and lost eleven jobs.

This engaging, humorous and sometimes startling account gives rich insight into how it feels to experience this mental health disorder. It is illuminating reading for people with mental health problems, and their family and professional carers.

About the Author
Brian Adams first trained as a baker, then worked in youth and community services for many years. He has also been a journalist and a conservation officer, has run his own small business and done much voluntary work. He has suffered from bipolar disorder since his mid-twenties.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers; 1st edition (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843101041
• ISBN-13: 978-1843101048
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,428,240 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, thought-provoking autobiography, September 15, 2008

By	Zachary May "zach99998" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Pits and the Pendulum is an memoir by Brian Adams. I originally read this for a psychopathology class in college, but in retrospect I can realize it can also be useful to other readers. To those interested in how a severe case of bipolar I disorder can affect one throughout his life, this book provides plenty of insight and is an interesting enough read as well (some memoirs in psychopathology can be quite dry sometimes). To those suffering from bipolar disorder (manic depression), you may find Adams' life experiences, troubles, triumphs, and all in between to be familiar.

Adams' recalls building birdhouses during a manic episode--slamming his hand with the hammer accidentally yet continuing to work through day and night, going without sleep or very little sleep for weeks. The effects on his jobs and the risky investments that are not uncommon with bipolar sufferers are both discussed. Struggling with the deepest of depressions, suicidality, and with the ultimate highs of mania provides for an interesting if not provocative read.

This is an example of a book read for class that I decided to keep rather than get rid of or sell used. It proves worthy of additional reads and as an excellent example of a memoir in bipolar disorder to those with any vested interest in the field.