Madness: A Bipolar Life

When Marya Hornbacher published her first book, Wasted, she did not yet know the reason for her all-but-shattered young life. At age 24, Hornbacher was diagnosed with Type 1 rapid-cycle bipolar, the most severe form of bipolar disease there is. Here, in her trademark wry, self-revealing voice, Hornbacher tells her new story. She takes us inside her own desperate attempts to control violently careening mood swings by self-starvation, substance abuse, numbing sex, and self-mutilation. How Hornbacher fights her way up from a madness that all but destroys her, and what it is like to live in a difficult and sometimes beautiful life and marriage, is at the heart of this brave memoir. Millions of people in America struggle with a variety of disorders that may mask their true diagnosis of bipolar; also, Hornbacher's portrait of her own bipolar as early as age four will change the current debate on whether bipolar exists in children.--From publisher description.