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Review
‘A brave and engagingly entertaining survivor. The value of “Madness” is its first-hand description of bipolarity.’ John Sutherland, Financial Times
‘A writer’s exploration of the mental illness that has defined and at times destroyed her life. “Madness: A Bipolar Life” makes the starkest fact about bipolar disorder painfully clear.’ Sara Keating, Sunday Business Post
‘Unsettling, moving, “Madness: A Bipolar Life” is a vivid look into the whirling highs and horrible lows of a life lived with mental illness’. The Gloss magazine
‘Devastatingly frank’. Stella magazine
Praise for ‘Wasted’:
‘A stunningly original and beautifully written book gouging deep into a gruesome subject which, by comparison, other writers have merely flirted with.’ Evening Standard
‘Like Plath, Hornbacher writes with a metaphoric intensity which at times seems tragically indistinguishable from the power of her drive to self-destruct. Her brutal honesty as to why it happened to her and her lack of special pleading, only adds to the essential pain of the book. If you want to understand anorexia, read this book.’ Scotsman
‘What marks “Wasted” out is the quality of the voice. Hornbacher is, simply, a good writer. Coolly vivid, there’s an edge to her prose…Her gift for description makes even the familiar aspects of the phenomenon newly real.’ Guardian
Praise for ‘The Centre of Winter’:
‘Hornbacher has created characters who are genuine, engaging, and unforgettable. Following…the acclaimed “Wasted”, with this stunning debut novel, Hornbacher, who inevitably will be compared to Alice Sebold, proves herself to be a master storyteller.’ Booklist (starred review)
‘Hornbacher succeeds marvelously…[She] constructs a kaleidoscope of speakers at times beautiful and often disturbing…[An] adroit first novel.’ Los Angeles Book Review
Sara Keating, Sunday Business Post
`Madness is...a writer's exploration of the mental illness that has defined and at times destroyed her life...'
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--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
I will not go to sleep. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
I will not go to sleep. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Just finished madness. A really gripping read, just as when reading Wasted (MH's first bosk), I found myself awake at 3.30 am with the book and my mini-bright light under the duvet reading like a teenager.
In reading Madness I got a sense of excitement, and a little trepidation as the time-line got closer to the present as the narrative really drew me in leaving me itching to find out where Marya (the author) got to and what happened to her.
This is a wonderful read for anyone interested in the effects of compulsion and the ineffectiveness of the intellect - the self - in dealing with lifes problems. Also anyone interested in how someone struggling with Bipolar can be both ill, friendly, tremendously productive, warm and also mad at the same time.
The book wrestles with the issues of Bipolar whilst telling a really personal and interesting story about the authors fight with the illness.
It is a compelling read and I would highly recommend it.
In reading Madness I got a sense of excitement, and a little trepidation as the time-line got closer to the present as the narrative really drew me in leaving me itching to find out where Marya (the author) got to and what happened to her.
This is a wonderful read for anyone interested in the effects of compulsion and the ineffectiveness of the intellect - the self - in dealing with lifes problems. Also anyone interested in how someone struggling with Bipolar can be both ill, friendly, tremendously productive, warm and also mad at the same time.
The book wrestles with the issues of Bipolar whilst telling a really personal and interesting story about the authors fight with the illness.
It is a compelling read and I would highly recommend it.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I had read Marya Hornbacher's previous memoir Wasted, where she describes her experiences with anorexia and bulimia, so I picked up Madness with high expectations. As someone with personal experience of eating disorders and bipolar disorder, Hornbacher's writing resonates with me. However I think Madness goes deeper than being merely a memoir, and reveals Hornbacher's considerable talent as a writer. She structures her narrative in a sometimes disjointed way (moving through time and episodes) that really allows the reader a real insight into her experiences with bipolar.
Ultimately this book has a lot to say about living well, not just surviving with mental illness and, I think, does a lot to break the stigma surrounding bipolar disorder. However, Hornbacher's experience of learning to love and accept herself makes a humbling read for anyone, not just bipolar sufferers.
Ultimately this book has a lot to say about living well, not just surviving with mental illness and, I think, does a lot to break the stigma surrounding bipolar disorder. However, Hornbacher's experience of learning to love and accept herself makes a humbling read for anyone, not just bipolar sufferers.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I really enjoyed this. In fact, I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to. I guess the problem with reading an autobiography that deals with something you've experienced yourself is that you go into it with different expectations to other books. After some disappointing memoirs in the past I usually go in with a rather pessimistic view - that it'll be okay but it just won't hit the mark, somehow. Unfortunately the nature of many mental disorders is such that memoirs can be very disjointed and relentlessly harrowing, whether deliberately or otherwise, which makes it harder to 'get into' and distances the reader from the story. I always HOPE that I'll really connect with the book and the author, that I'll find parts that I relate to, and that I'll come away liking and respecting the author for the way they've voiced their experiences.
Anyway, this one did what I wanted it to. It had its disjointed moments, it had its moments of utter, well, madness - but to my great joy Hornbacher kept this at a level where it deftly illustrated the mania and the psychosis she was experiencing, but didn't detract from the flow of the book and the building picture the reader was getting of Marya, her life, and the friends and family helping her along the way. Other reviews have pointed out the overlap between 'Madness' and 'Wasted', but given how closely her bipolar and eating disorders intertwined with each other at certain points, it would have been difficult to separate them completely.
All in all, the memoir reads as a journey, not from madness to sanity, but a journey from a wild place to one of growing wisdom and maturity, acceptance and hope. There was a fair bit that I could relate to, despite every person's experiences being so different, and as I read I just got the impression that Hornbacher is a very genuine, self-aware and intelligent woman - which isn't always the case ('Passing for Normal''s Amy Wilensky - I mean you). She writes with humour and sparkle which stops her story feeling too self-involved and introspective. And a final nice touch: the end of the book has a useful and informative section comprising lists of helpful organisations and websites for everyone from sufferers to families to the interested public, bipolar facts and figures, and an extensive bibliography which I've perused with some interest! Recommended - and if you like this one, I'd also highly recommend Kay Redfield Jamison's 'An Unquiet Mind' which is truly a classic among bipolar memoirs.
Anyway, this one did what I wanted it to. It had its disjointed moments, it had its moments of utter, well, madness - but to my great joy Hornbacher kept this at a level where it deftly illustrated the mania and the psychosis she was experiencing, but didn't detract from the flow of the book and the building picture the reader was getting of Marya, her life, and the friends and family helping her along the way. Other reviews have pointed out the overlap between 'Madness' and 'Wasted', but given how closely her bipolar and eating disorders intertwined with each other at certain points, it would have been difficult to separate them completely.
All in all, the memoir reads as a journey, not from madness to sanity, but a journey from a wild place to one of growing wisdom and maturity, acceptance and hope. There was a fair bit that I could relate to, despite every person's experiences being so different, and as I read I just got the impression that Hornbacher is a very genuine, self-aware and intelligent woman - which isn't always the case ('Passing for Normal''s Amy Wilensky - I mean you). She writes with humour and sparkle which stops her story feeling too self-involved and introspective. And a final nice touch: the end of the book has a useful and informative section comprising lists of helpful organisations and websites for everyone from sufferers to families to the interested public, bipolar facts and figures, and an extensive bibliography which I've perused with some interest! Recommended - and if you like this one, I'd also highly recommend Kay Redfield Jamison's 'An Unquiet Mind' which is truly a classic among bipolar memoirs.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Didn't gain anything from this book
I have to say, I rather agree with 'Holly' in her review. There is just something missing with this book. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Page Turner
Not A True Bipolar Representation
I found reading "Madness: A Bipolar Life" a very difficult and unsettling experience. Marya Hornbacher is very honest about her experiences of distress and the difficulties she has... Read more
Published 3 months ago by C Shields
an utterly exhausting read
This book is stuffed to the gills with unimportant trivial details and but has no real depth.
I think if Hornbacher had had the courage to give control of her story to a... Read more
I think if Hornbacher had had the courage to give control of her story to a... Read more
Published 3 months ago by thetruthshallsetyefree
An interesting account
If you have, or know someone that has, been recently diagnosed with Bipolar, this book will give you an insight into what it is like to suffer with the disorder. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Pez Whatley
superb
What else to say?- amazing writer, brilliant book...would recommend to read after Wasted as a logical continuation of the writers life
Published 6 months ago by Rostov
Mixed feelings
The five stars are for the author's honesty.
I would give minus 5, if I could, for the person who designed the sensationalist book cover. Read more
I would give minus 5, if I could, for the person who designed the sensationalist book cover. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Insula
Very well written!
I don't have bipolar disorder but I did have both bulimia and struggle from time to time with anorexa (it is something I don't think will ever really leave me but I'm still... Read more
Published 8 months ago by J. L. Wilson Bradley
Amazing!
This book can be described in 1 word - AMAZING! I have never read anything like it ... for all the pain and sadness in this book, there is so much heartfelt humour and ever word... Read more
Published 15 months ago by GracieEli
Brilliant!
With out long rivers of words, I will just say that from all the books I have read on this topic, this one is far the best.
Marya is a brilliant and gifted writer!
Marya is a brilliant and gifted writer!
Published 17 months ago by D
sad
MY HUSBAND HAS BEEN DIGNOSED WITH BIPOLAR AND I WANTED TO KNOW HOW HE IS FEELING AND WHAT IT IS LIKE TO LIVE WITH IT ,AND I FEEL VERY SAD FOR ANYONE WHO IS GOING THROUGH AN EPISODE... Read more
Published on 10 Feb 2010 by Nichole
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