Product Description

An attractive, highly successful Beverly Hills entertainment lawyer, Terri Cheney had been battling debilitating bipolar disorder for the better part of her life—and concealing a pharmacy’s worth of prescription drugs meant to stabilize her moods and make her "normal." In explosive bursts of prose that mirror the devastating mania and extreme despair of her illness, Cheney describes her roller-coaster existence with shocking honesty, giving brilliant voice to the previously unarticulated madness she endured. Brave, electrifying, poignant, and disturbing, Manic does not simply explain bipolar disorder—it takes us into its grasp and does not let go.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23981 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-01
• Released on: 2009-02-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780061430275
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Cheney, a former L.A. entertainment lawyer, pointedly dispels expectations of a safe ride through this turbulent account of bipolar disorder. With evocative imagery—time-shuffled recollections meant to mirror her disorienting extremes of mood—Cheney conjures life at the mercy of a brain chemistry that yanks her from soul-starving despair to raucous exuberance, impetuous pursuits to paralyzing lethargy. Caught in a riptide of febrile impulse, she caroms from seductions to suicide attempts while flirting recklessly with men, danger and death, only to find more hazards in the drastic side effects of treatment. More than a train-wreck tearjerker, the memoir draws strength from salient observations that expose the frustrations of bipolar disorder, from its brutal sabotage of romance and friendship to the challenge it poses to the simplest emotions, such as the terrors of being happy that augur mania's onset. Though she sustains an ominous mood and relays horrifying incidents with icy candor, Cheney lightens up at times, as when she marvels at the ease of masking her condition at an office that brings out everyone's manic side. But the narrative hopscotch frustrates readers' need for grounding and context that might clear up Cheney's muddled history and satisfy readers' urge to learn the fallout of her impulse-driven episodes. Her startlingly lucid descriptions of illness merit a more concise chronology. (Feb.)
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Review
"Amazing and powerful...[MANIC] forces the reader into Cheney’s bipolar world, into her deep and fearful depressions mixed with her giddy, high-flying manic moods." -- Orange County Register

"Cheney...writes with passionate clarity about depression and the lure of suicide but with especially keen intensity about mania..." -- Boston Globe

"Cheney’s chilling account of her struggle with bipolar disorder brilliantly evokes the brutal nature of her disease...Edgy, dark and often cynical, MANIC is not an easy book to read, but it has heart and soul to spare." -- People

"Superb...Cheney’s remarkable chronicle of her painful odyssey is as eloquent as it is brave. It is also profoundly necessary, both for her and for us." -- Providence Journal

"Written in episodic chapters that mimic the ups and downs of bipolar depression—hypomania, mania, depression—Cheney’s book is a gut-churning ride." -- Los Angeles Times

Review
"[Manic is] more than a train-wreck tearjerker, the memoir draws strength from salient observations.startlingly lucid descriptions." (Publishers Weekly )

"Filled with gorgeous writing...Echoes of William Styron abound." (Demitri F. Papolos. M.D. and Janice Papolos, authors of The Bipolar Child )

"[a] gritty, vibrant, memoir brings this chaotic frenzy to life...through disaster and despair to end in hope. " (Peter C Whybrow MD author A Mood Apart )

"This is a poignant and compelling memoir ...The writing is outstanding, the story is gripping." (Dr. Lori Altshuler, Director of the UCLA Mood Disorders Research Program )

"Cheney brilliantly brings us along on her haunting and riveting journey of bipolar disorder. ...MANIC is extremely powerful." (Andy Behrman, author of Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania )

"Superb...Cheney's remarkable chronicle of her painful odyssey is as eloquent as it is brave. It is also profoundly necessary, both for her and for us." (Providence Journal )

"Cheney's chilling account of her struggle with bipolar disorder brilliantly evokes the brutal nature of her disease...Edgy, dark and often cynical, MANIC is not an easy book to read, but it has heart and soul to spare." (People )

"Written in episodic chapters that mimic the ups and downs of bipolar depression-hypomania, mania, depression-Cheney's book is a gut-churning ride." (Los Angeles Times )

"Cheney...writes with passionate clarity about depression and the lure of suicide but with especially keen intensity about mania..." (Boston Globe )

"Amazing and powerful...[MANIC] forces the reader into Cheney's bipolar world, into her deep and fearful depressions mixed with her giddy, high-flying manic moods." (Orange County Register )

Customer Reviews

Captivating look into the mind of someone with manic-depression
In MANIC, author Terri Cheney provides a fascinating glimpse into the experiences of someone suffering from Bipolar Disorder, AKA manic-depression. Rather than to narrate her story in a chronological fashion, Cheney presents each chapter as a stand-alone vignette from the chaos that is her life. Furthermore, each of these individual stories serves to highlight a particular insight, from the depths of depression which prompt a suicide attempt to the fine line between the joys of hypomania versus the craziness of mania itself. Cheney does tend to repeat herself a bit--for example, she names several different medications as the "one" that finally helped her and claims various depressive episodes to be the "worst" she ever experienced. Overall, however, from the perspective of both a psychologist and an avid reader, I felt that a sense of truth and candidness permeated Cheney's writing. This book provides a captivating read for almost anyone but should particularly appeal to the many whose lives have been personally touched by manic-depression; my overall rating is 4 1/2 stars.

Accurate And Hopeful
I've dealt with depression and a bipolar condition all of my life. When I was younger, I didn't know what it was. At that point, it just manifested itself as a heavy sadness that would hit about every six months or so and last for about a week. Unfortunately, as I grew older and got knocked about by life every so often - especially when I got hammered through no fault of my own and didn't see the reason for it, that cycle accelerated and started lasting longer.

During those intervening years, I also pushed my writing hobby (probably cathartic in the beginning) into a full-time career. Which meant that I was forced to (and still do) live primarily out of my own head. That's not always a pleasant place to be. Too many nightmares exist there. And I've learned throughout my life where all the weak points are. When I'm in a downward spiral, I attack myself unmercifully. When I'm in an upward spiral, I can't sit still.

I started figuring out my own coping mechanism, based on materials and books I'd read. But that was only after I figured out what I was going through was different than the life other people dealt with. In fact, my first clues as to what I had to face were given to me by friends that suffered from the same anxieties and pressures.

These conditions aren't easy to deal with for the person who has them. Or for the people around them.

When I first read about Terri Cheney's book, MANIC, I immediately wanted to review it. Here was a successful person who admittedly dealt with the same issues I had, but I didn't know how honest she was going to be about those problems.

After reading Cheney's book in a single sitting (because I was mesmerized at watching a train wreck in motion and thinking how similar our strategies for self-destruction were), I have to admit that I couldn't find a single pulled punch. Cheney lays her life out there for inspection and offers no apologies for it. I have to admit, in a lot of ways she had it worse than I did. I had kids at an early age and couldn't allow myself to go full-tilt down some of those dark passageways that she explored. I think they were my anchor, though I know that isn't always the case for everyone.

Chaney's book describes her failed relationships, her attempts at chemical and electroshock therapy, her moments of self-discovery, and the seeming impossibility of merely coping in ways that I immediately understood. I don't know if laymen will truly appreciate everything she's done because you have to walk a mile (or several years) in our shoes to know how huge that mountain is to navigate.

People who have never dealt with bipolar tendencies or depression, or never had to share their lives with someone that did, probably won't understand everything Cheney writes about. Even without that insight, though, she tells a compelling story. And as every bipolar person is subject to doing, she jumps around in her narrative. I'm also ADHD and I'm willing to bet Cheney is to a degree as well. That's part of the creative mind as well, and part of what allows us to function at a high level on our own.

I loved this book. It's a savage song of survival, and a rebuttal of conventional life. The average life would be a wonderful thing, but it's not attainable by everyone. Cheney's book may not celebrate that, but she acknowledges it.

Whether you read for understanding, or just a voyeuristic interest in peeking into someone else's life, MANIC is heart-wrenching and a definite gut-check for those who don't realize how good they have it. I don't know if Cheney plans any more books, but I'll definitely be in line to pick them up if she does.

a must-read
whether or not bipolar disorder touches your life, this riveting memoir is powerful and memorable, and is wholeheartedly recommended by this reader. cheney brings us into her world, from darkest depression to the headiest manic phases, creating a high-speed, high-stakes ride we don't want to disembark from until the final page. her magnificent use of language combined with gut-wrenching truth enhances the experience. it's a one-sitting read that shouldn't be missed.