Now, one of the factors that make the book so compelling is how Jamison-one of the world’s foremost experts on the disorder-pulls from her own experiences as a manic depressive to provide a holistic view of the illness. Written in the early 90s by Kay Redfield Jamison, a Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, An Unquiet Mind is an eye-opening memoir that effectively changes the way one views bipolar disorder.

And yet, while we are seeing change in the public’s attitude towards the illness, there are just a handful of autobiographical accounts that tackle both the personal and medical effects of the illness as brilliantly as Kay Redfield Jamison’s An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness. The onset of social media has also contributed greatly in disseminating information and dispelling biases against the disorder. Over the course of the last couple of decades, the medical world has made significant progress in finding effective diagnostic and treatment procedures for Bipolar Disorder, formerly known as Manic Depression. Genre: Non-Fiction, Autobiography, Psychology From her jubilant childhood to the disquiet that has dominated her adult life, she charts a journey through her own mind, and those of others.Title: An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness While pursuing her career in medicine, she was affected by the same exhilarating highs and catastrophic lows that afflicted many of her patients. Now, all of a sudden, my mind had turned on me: it mocked me for my vapid enthusiasms it laughed at all of my foolish plans it no longer found anything interesting or enjoyable or worthwhile.ĭr Kay Redfield Jamison is one of the foremost authorities on manic depression (bipolar disorder) – and has experienced its terrors and cruel allure first-hand. I was used to my mind being my best friend. 'It stands alone in the literature of manic depression for its bravery, brilliance and beauty.' – Oliver Sacks With an introduction by Andrew Solomon, writer and lecturer on psychology and culture. A classic memoir of enormous candour and courage, it teems with the wit and wisdom of its writer, Dr Kay Redfield Jamison. An Unquiet Mind is a definitive examination of manic depression from both sides: doctor and patient, the healer and the healed.

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