In a look at mental illness that weaves togther three timelines, Greyson Todd leaves his successful Hollywood career and wife and young daughter to travel the world, giving free reign to the bipolar disorder he has been forced to keep hidden for almost twenty years.
This was a difficult book to read. I eventually got through it and found that I enjoyed about half of it. It's the tale of a bi-polar man's life told via snapshots of his life and treatment. I didn't find the subject matter to be difficult, just her style of writing.
It's so true to life that it isn't a really enjoyable read. Read it only if you want to see how it feels to not be able to control your moods and to show that past life experiences do not have any thing to do with these moods, otherwise we'd all be manic depressives/
This book is something of a mix between "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". Despite Greyson's shortcomings, you can't help but feel sorry for him as he struggles with his past and condition. I found myself drinking in his perspectives, feelings, thoughts, emotions and accepting them for truth. I think that this is part of what Juliann Garey was attempting to explain: that people with bipolar disorder, though aware of their distorted worldview, are nonetheless slaves to their own minds. This book is gripping and thought-provoking. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an intense, fictional read.
SLS71
Feb 22, 2013
This was an often intense and difficult read, especially if you know someone who suffers from bi-polar disorder, or any mental illness. Her writing is incredible though -- insightful and perceptive, raw and sometimes funny. She really managed to get into that character's bones, and though his breakdown was epic, I always felt there was a beating heart, that his humanity was still in there. So even though I cringed often at what Greyson did to himself and his family, I knew I was in it to the end.
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Add a CommentThis was a difficult book to read. I eventually got through it and found that I enjoyed about half of it. It's the tale of a bi-polar man's life told via snapshots of his life and treatment. I didn't find the subject matter to be difficult, just her style of writing.
It's so true to life that it isn't a really enjoyable read. Read it only if you want to see how it feels to not be able to control your moods and to show that past life experiences do not have any thing to do with these moods, otherwise we'd all be manic depressives/
This book is something of a mix between "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". Despite Greyson's shortcomings, you can't help but feel sorry for him as he struggles with his past and condition. I found myself drinking in his perspectives, feelings, thoughts, emotions and accepting them for truth. I think that this is part of what Juliann Garey was attempting to explain: that people with bipolar disorder, though aware of their distorted worldview, are nonetheless slaves to their own minds. This book is gripping and thought-provoking. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an intense, fictional read.
This was an often intense and difficult read, especially if you know someone who suffers from bi-polar disorder, or any mental illness. Her writing is incredible though -- insightful and perceptive, raw and sometimes funny. She really managed to get into that character's bones, and though his breakdown was epic, I always felt there was a beating heart, that his humanity was still in there. So even though I cringed often at what Greyson did to himself and his family, I knew I was in it to the end.