Book Review -- Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic Depressive Illness

When faced with illness of any sort, John & I often turn to books, and the internet as a means of educating ourselves. Interestingly, he turns to the "fact" books, and I tend more toward the human interest types of books, and A Brilliant Madness was one of the first I turned to.

Written by actress Patty Duke and Gloria Hochman, this tells the story of Patty Duke's struggle with mental illness. The chapters are alternately written by Ms. Duke, telling the story in her words, and then Ms. Hochman explaining the facts and treatments of manic depressive illness.

Why did I choose this one first, and what did I think? Well, I chose it, I think, because after my brother was diagnosed as bipolar in 1991, my mother started learning more about this disease. Patty Duke was one of the first celebrities that I had ever heard also being bipolar, and she has been quite outspoken about it since her diagnosis in 1982. When my brother was diagnosed, I did contemplate learning more about it then, but my plate was full, or so I thought, and I left it up to my mom to handle things.

So, is it a useful book to read? Yes, and no. For me, it was heartbreaking to read how she struggled for many years with depression, wild manic episodes and multiple suicide threats and attempts. But it was also reassuring in that as bad as it had been for her, now that she had a diagnosis and a treatment plan, life could go on in a more or less normal fashion. Originally written in 1992, the chapters on the illness itself were interesting, but now, in 2011, I found much of the information to be outdated, and I found myself skimming those chapters.

"There comes a point where the mental illness has to stop being the focus of your life. Once you are treated, your world is no longer about depression or mania. It is about living your life -- making a nice dinner, reading a book, or writing one, going to a PTA meeting, and feeling comfortable about it. It's no longer thinking of yourself as a "patient." But you still have to deal with reality. And reality is hard."

Patty Duke, A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic Depressive Illness,  p. 291.

We're not at that point yet, but there is hope.