An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness

In an invaluable memoir of manic depression, at once medically knowledgeable, deeply human, and beautifully written (The New York Times Book Review), Kay Redfield Jamison offers a story with a dual perspective: from that of healer and healed. Powerfully candid, exceptionally wise, An Unquiet Mind is one of those rare book that has the power to transform lives--and even save them. NATIONAL BESTSELLER - A deeply powerful memoir about bipolar illness that has both transformed and saved lives--with a new preface by the author.

Dr. Jamison is one of the foremost authorities on manic-depressive (bipolar) illness; she has also experienced it firsthand. For even while she was pursuing her career in academic medicine, Jamison found herself succumbing to the same exhilarating highs and catastrophic depressions that afflicted many of her patients, as her disorder launched her into ruinous spending sprees, episodes of violence, and an attempted suicide. Here Jamison examines bipolar illness from the dual perspectives of the healer and the healed, revealing both its terrors and the cruel allure that at times prompted her to resist taking medication.