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John Calder - World Famous Publisher
'Jason Pegler's A Can Of Madness is a moving and intelligent approach to a subject that is so little understood and too often ignored.
The Daily Telegraph, Jan 18 2003
Mr Pegler wants to encourage those with mental illness to write as a form of therapy, as he has done.
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First Sentence
As I was being driven off in the back of a police van in a space suit, I thought I was Donovan Bad Boy Smith being driven to a rave. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
As I was being driven off in the back of a police van in a space suit, I thought I was Donovan Bad Boy Smith being driven to a rave. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Having been diagnosed with Bipolar I am always keen to find literature that deepens my understanding of the illness. This book didn't do this. I couldn't get beyond the irritating and self-important style of the author. He even refers to himself as a genius - like Van Gogh - at one point. I'm left doubting! However, there is definitely a story to tell, and he tells it. Maybe this isn't the sort of book that needs to be criticised for its literary style, more celebrated for its honesty - which it has in abundance.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
I am a manic depressive who has been out of work for fourteen years after a career in teaching and writing. I have done a great deal of work with MIND, the BBC and Rethink about mental health issues. I was revolted by this book. The author's self-justifying and arrogant style - we are meant to be impressed that he was best at Top Trumps in his school - would be laughable if he didn't combine it with ill founded and repeatedly shifting philosophical and medical views combined with a hatred of doctors which will encourage people to stop taking their medication and put them in danger. This is a thoroughly bad, poorly written, and and even wicked book. I laughed aloud when he claimed that he has always been tremendously attractive to women but nobody would go out with him when he was younger - either because they were slags or afraid of getting pregnant. Eventually, he tells us, he managed to get it inside one of them while she was asleep in a bathroom at a party, but unfortunately she woke up and she ended up barfing on his shoe because she was drunk. Classy. No comment at all that this might have been any sort of symptom or moral problem. Pegler has repeatedly claimed to have cured himself of bipolar disorder, an incurable life long illness. One might as well claim to have cured oneself of having one leg. When one has waded through the tedium of Pegler's style with its unconscious moments of creepy hilarity, what one is left with is a very silly, poorly written and dangerous book.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
This is by the best memoir that i have read on manic depression/bipolar disorder. Jason Pegler was diagnosed with manic depression at the age of 17. You could say that he caused it himself with the excessive drinking and drugs that he took. He writes in an extremely passionate and intense way. A Can of Madness is his autobiography up until his late 20's and was first published in 2002.
The manic moments are described with such clarity that they are quite unnerving. The moments of suicidal feelings had me in tears. I have bipolar and was amazed how real this memoir felt for me. It made me realised that i did not have to be embarrassed to have manic depression and actually encouraged me to be a writer myself. He writes in detail about the hospital wards and calls for improved treatment from medical staff and society.
The book is a journey where the person develops and comes up with a vision for saving his own sanity and that of others. He went on to set up Chipmunkapublishing the mental health publisher to allow other people with manic depression and mental illness express themselves.
The manic moments are described with such clarity that they are quite unnerving. The moments of suicidal feelings had me in tears. I have bipolar and was amazed how real this memoir felt for me. It made me realised that i did not have to be embarrassed to have manic depression and actually encouraged me to be a writer myself. He writes in detail about the hospital wards and calls for improved treatment from medical staff and society.
The book is a journey where the person develops and comes up with a vision for saving his own sanity and that of others. He went on to set up Chipmunkapublishing the mental health publisher to allow other people with manic depression and mental illness express themselves.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
great book
This is a blitzkrieg journey from a brilliant writer. Jason Pegler has been to hell and back with depression and writes about iit with huge insight. Read more
Published 3 months ago by peter murphy
madness
A brilliant book made me cry in places and also a true account of the authors life. Also bought as a part of the mental health module I was studying. A really amazing book
Published 11 months ago by Clare284
The Hero's Journey
This is a visceral, heart breaking and amazing autobiography.
For many people who overcome mental illness or emerge from a dark well, there is the tendency to 'cut off'... Read more
For many people who overcome mental illness or emerge from a dark well, there is the tendency to 'cut off'... Read more
Published 12 months ago by S. J. Sorrell
an account of a life with difficulties; survived.
Hello, I read, A Can of Madness about 2 years ago and found it contained a lot of life changing experiences with real life drama. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Glymph
Compulsive reading
A young modern bloke's experience of manic depression, mania, pill-popping while raving as a teenager, binge drinking and occasional violence that was covered up to a huge extent... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Natalie Tuckwell
Jargon -free account of mental illness for the ecstasy generation
Jason Pegler's narration style is direct and honest. Free of mental health jargon and literary earnestness, this book gives and insiders account of manic depression, from... Read more
Published on 12 Mar 2010 by K. Dwight
absolutely fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!
omg this book is fantastic,my fave book of its kind.Ive read so many books like this and they are good but most of the time sugar coated this is totally to the point which is what... Read more
Published on 8 Dec 2009 by angelkt
a must read
Jason Pegler's A Can Of Madness is a moving and intelligent approach to a subject that is so little understood and too often ignored. Read more
Published on 15 July 2008 by Manu147
Essential
Since reading this I have changed my life and it is with thanks to Jason that I now fight for mental health. Read more
Published on 2 May 2008 by Professional Psycho
a good start but not if you are after more.
this topic is close to my heart and i chose to buy this because chipmunkapublishing is doing such wonderful work and this was the book that helped start it all off. Read more
Published on 11 Jun 2007 by daniel
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