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An Unquiet Mind

Front Cover
133 Reviews
Vintage Books, 1996 - Biography & Autobiography - 223 pages

WITH A NEW PREFACE BY THE AUTHOR

In her bestselling classic, An Unquiet Mind, Kay Redfield Jamison changed the way we think about moods and madness.

Dr. Jamison is one of the foremost authorities on manic-depressive (bipolar) illness; she has also experienced it firsthand. For even while she was pursuing her career in academic medicine, Jamison found herself succumbing to the same exhilarating highs and catastrophic depressions that afflicted many of her patients, as her disorder launched her into ruinous spending sprees, episodes of violence, and an attempted suicide.

Here Jamison examines bipolar illness from the dual perspectives of the healer and the healed, revealing both its terrors and the cruel allure that at times prompted her to resist taking medication. An Unquiet Mind is a memoir of enormous candor, vividness, and wisdom—a deeply powerful book that has both transformed and saved lives.

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User ratings

5 stars
32
4 stars
24
3 stars
28
2 stars
28
1 star
21

Again, the writing is incredible. - Goodreads
It's short, and her prose is eminently readable. - Goodreads
What insight she would share I thought. - Goodreads
Mainly I found the prose to be over the top. - Goodreads
My advice is not to compare. - Goodreads
For insights to bipolarism, this is the book. - Goodreads

Review: An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness

User Review  - Khanam - Goodreads

This is a breathtaking book - beautifully written, incredibly honest, generous, courageous - it is a gift really. I anticipate it will stay with me a long, long time. I admired Kay's ability to mix ... Read full review

Review: An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness

User Review  - Nicole Fraser - Goodreads

This memoir was published in 1995, and the fact that Dr. Jamison's content has stood the test of nearly 20 years' time is a testament to its integrity and quality. I especially appreciate two parts ... Read full review

All 133 reviews »

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About the author (1996)

Kay Redfield Jamison is the Dalio Family Professor in Mood Disorders and Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She is codirector of the Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Center and a member of the governing board of the National Network of Depression Centers. She is also Honorary Professor of English at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and the author of the national bestsellers An Unquiet Mind and Night Falls Fast, as well as Touched with Fire, Exuberance, and Nothing Was the Same. Dr. Jamison is the coauthor of the standard medical text on bipolar illness, Manic-Depressive Illness: Bipolar Disorders and Recurrent Depression, and the recipient of numerous national and international literary and scientific honors, including a MacArthur Award. In 2010 she married Thomas Traill, a cardiologist and Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins.

Bibliographic information