An Unquiet Mind

A Memoir of Moods and Madness

By: Kay Redfield Jamison

Narrated by: Kay Redfield Jamison

Length: 2 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A deeply powerful memoir about bipolar illness that has both transformed and saved lives—with a new preface by the author. 

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.

©1995 Kay Redfield Jamison (P)2010 Random House

Critic reviews

“An invaluable memoir of manic depression, at once medically knowledgeable, deeply human and beautifully written ... at times poetic, at times straightforward, always unashamedly honest.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Stands alone in the literature of manic-depression for its bravery, brilliance and beauty.”—Oliver Sacks

“Jamison’s [strength] is in the gutsy way she has made her disease her life’s work and in her brilliant ability to convey its joys and its anguish.... Extraordinary.” —Washington Post Book World

It Says Unabridged. That is incorrect.

I downloaded this title today, so I'd have a copy when I return the borrowed paper book version I have. It quickly became apparent that there are parts missing, so I began reading along and this is certainly *not* the Unabridged version.
On a single page several paragraphs were chopped in half. The book, which has four parts, has been whittled down to three. Someone, somewhere, has a very loose definition of unabridged.
Still, I'm enjoying what I hear. I just wonder what I'm going to miss from the continuation of the audiobook.

Heavily Abridged!!!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

This book is five stars, but the audiobook is roughly half of the paper book. Well done, read by Jamison herself, but leaves out a lot of what makes the book great. You still get the core of the story, and it makes sense, but you loose all the little details and other pieces that make this a wonderful story.

Audiobook deliberately skips many segments

What would have made An Unquiet Mind better?

To say nothing of the outstanding work and writing style of Dr. Jamison, this is a piss poor audiobook. I happened to have my paperback version (bought the book to stick notes in for a class I am in) on me when I was listening to the final parts, and I decided to try and follow along with her narration. I was shocked and disappointed to find that the narration skipped over parts of the book, sometimes mere sentences, other times multiple paragraphs of material. Upon further analysis, the parts skipped were typically detailed descriptions or otherwise not all that "necessary" information...but this shouldn't be something left up to audible to decide- why aren't they letting the listener hear the ENTIRE book? I feel seriously shortchanged by this, and I wonder how often they do it with the other books on this suddenly suspect website...

She co-wrote the "bible" on bipolar disorder

The first book I read by Jamison was "Manic Depressive Illness: Bipolar Disorders and Recurrent Depression" that she wrote with Frederick Goodwin. 1262 pages. Although huge and technical, it is surprisingly readable. (I skipped all the parts comparing the drawbacks of different studies) It's the bible of bipolar disorder.

So this book was quite a change, a short and very personal book. I'm glad I heard it aloud and I'm glad she read it herself. I disagree with the people who found her voice dull and unemotional. That's what therapists sound like. If you listen carefully, you can hear the tiniest cracks in her voice when she talks about the losses in her life. Not unemotional. Dignified and subtle and heartbreaking.

One thing she says in the book that might interest Audible listeners is that she lost her ability to read when she was on a high dose of lithium. She'd read a paragraph, have no idea what it said, then have to read it again. And again. She had to have her boyfriend read aloud to her. Lowering her dose apparently helped improve her reading, enough to read and distill shelves full of difficult technical articles into "only" 1262 pages. A heroic accomplishment.

Most bipolars I've talked to say they have problems reading books - they can handle articles. They're not all on lithium, and those that are are not on high doses. I think it's a consequence of the disorder. Thank goodness we have Audible for popular books. I'd love it if Audible would offer her magnum opus, but it's an absurdly huge technical book with a limited audience. Maybe Amazon will loosen up on its "read out loud" feature so it's available not just on physical Kindles but on phones, pcs and macs.

The End

The end was truly beautiful. Every single word in this book reminds me of my own struggle with manic depressive illness.

Disappointed

What disappointed you about An Unquiet Mind?

Whole chunks of the book are missing. I bought the audiobook to help me stay concentrated as I read the actual book and it's not helping because I have to stop and figure out where its being read from. Whole paragraphs skipped. Very upsetting.

Loved this book

Richly written description of the very difficult life lead by a suffering manic-depressive. I highly recommend this book. Its not just a study on the illness, you get this great insight from a brilliant woman and its a riveting story of her life.

Good book considering topic

I give her a lot of credit for writing about herself. This book has potential to help a lot of people. Her voice is mundane, howerver.

Interesting story

Tough subject but an interesting story. Not for everyone though. Likely best for those whose interest run in this area.

No life in her voice

The narrator's voice is so droll that I couldn't get past the first hour. I usually find audio books about mental illness to be quite interesting, but this lady's voice grated on my nerves so much that I couldn't stand to listen to the whole thing. Granted, the subject matter in itself is a bit somber. Maybe I would enjoy it much more if I actually read the book instead.

Read if you are bipolar- you will understand

I listened to it all in one day and not one point did I stop listening.
It was incredibly insightful, and moving for someone with bipolar
I cried at the end!!

Essential

If you read only one book about bipolar disorder, let it be this one.

Fantastic book

If you only read one book about bipolar this is it.
I have bipolar and have read a lot of books and papers. Done countless hours of research. This book sums up the struggles with everyday life, the damaging albeit fun at times mania and hyper mania followed by the frightening , soul destroying depression.
With every book I read, every video I watch one thing that always hits me is the additional traumas we seem to go through. I have had far more than my share of loss, trauma and abandonment. More than any person I have met without a mental illness. We are stronger than we realise.
If you yourself have bipolar you have my love, hope and admiration. If you are reading this because you are trying to support somebody with bipolar. Thank you. Thank you for caring when so many walk away. I know life with us can be challenging at times. But we desperately need your love and understanding.

Amazing

Such a good insight into bipolar. I have bipolar and felt I could relate to a lot of this. Has tears at the end. So well written.

Beautiful and raw

I easily binged this book and could really feel the author's experience. A friend of mine was diagnosed with bipolar disorder this year and I also have a patient currently considering that she might have it, so wanted to learn more so I could better support them. Such a beautiful and raw book and I feel better educated about the disorder and how it feels. Thank you for writing this, Kay. I can only imagine what it was like to do so and I know my friend felt very seen by your words and experience.

Fabulous story.

Fabulous story. Gives great personal insight into how mood disorder are actually 'illnesses' to be grappeled with.

Easy listen.

A very easy listen to what life can be like with a Mental Illness from both the client and doctor perspective.

so helpful and soothing

second time I've listened on the last two years. coming out of mania that's taken almost 3 years. Dr Jamison's experience with suicide on lithium saved my life. thank you Doctor

fascinating

A fascinating & overall joyful insight into the life experiences of a manic depressive .

Moving, engaging and honest

Kay redfield beautifully narrates her experience of life with bipolar affective disorder. She details the effects of this condition on her personal and professional life with eloquent and captivating descriptions.