Picked this up at a bookcrossing meet. The previous reader told me it was 'raw' and she wasn't kidding. It is the memoir of Terri Cheney, a high flying entertainment lawyer who is also living with and trying to hide the fact that she is manic depressive. Fascinating, brave and 'messy' (the events are episodic rather than chronological) it gives amazing insight into her mind and her awareness of her illness and the symptoms which herald each state.
I remember watching some of Stephen Fry's series on mental illness and I remember him saying that if there was a magic wand which would remove the symptoms of his manic depression he may well not use it, the reason being that the periods of mania and hypermania make his life rich and extraordinary and the depression is the price he pays. Well, Terri says something similar when a boyfriend claims; 'if it wasn't for the manic depression I would marry you in a minute' if you stripped her of the manic depression you would lose so much of what he found attractive about her; the flashes of brilliance, the impulsiveness, the drive, the seductress and she would be....ordinary.
A fascinating read particularly for someone like me prone to high highs and low lows (although thankfully not of manic proportions)
Now about that OBCZ......
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