Bipolar Disorder is defined as “A psychiatric disorder marked by alternating episodes of mania and depression.”   For those of you who suffer from this, or have loved ones who do, it’s a difficult road to navigate.  Those afflicted with it are victim to its extreme up and down swings, which are not comparable to what a “normal” person would experience in especially good or bad times.   Things that, to most, seem logical aren’t always the tangible answer for people suffering from Bipolar Disorder.  It consumes not only the patient’s life, but also radically affects the lives of those around them.

It has also been stated that this is a genetic disease, therefore children of Bipolar parents are highly suseptical to it.  In this family, the disease strongly affected David’s father.  In addition, his mother suffered from emotional disorders.  This combination led to a rather strange life for the family… a difficult one at best. 

Many Bipolar patients are highly functional and exceptionally intelligent.  When in a manic state, this could create amazing brilliance or extremely damaging behaviors.  The problem lies with the consistency of the medications prescribed and taken by the patients.  For many, if the medications dull the mind too much and it is difficult for the Bipolar patient to continue to want to take the medications because they are not truly “feeling” life.  And, that patient may be alright for a period of time, but eventually the mania and the depression will kick in and in manic episodes the patient loses all control over sensibility and reason.

It’s a tricky disease and the combination of medications is even trickier.  What may work for some will not necessarily work for others.  In David’s experience, we see how the family functions inside and outside of being medicated and what those ramifications are.  I believe that there’s a negative stigma attached to being Bipolar.  But, being Bipolar doesn’t equate to a person being mentally incapable or psychotic.  It’s a disease which attacks the nervous system and the center of the brain which regulates moods.  Untreated, many of these patients are more likely to commit suicide or self-medicate via drugs and alcohol. 

  Reading this book led me to better understand that there are also different classifications of this disorder.  I learned so much about how Lithium is used to stabilize Bipolar patients as is Electroconvulsive therapy.   I found so much compassion for this family in which only the daughter seemed to escape the affliction. 

The Rating

This book was, by far, the best memoir that I’ve read about this disease.  Everything that I read improved my understanding of this disease and how it not only affects the individual, but also the family.   I would 100% recommend this book to any person who is connected to somebody diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder.  I found this book to be riveting and pertinent to today’s society with so many suffering from this disease, unbeknownst to themselves.

FTC Disclosure:  This book was provided to me from the publisher.  Clicking on the either the photo of the book cover or the link next to the purchase price stated above will bring you to my Amazon Affiliate page.  No purchases are necessary. 

For any of you who are interested in knowing what this book is about, I’m afraid that you won’t get that here today.  In fact, I refuse to waste my time or energy by typing a well-thought out, prolific summarization.  However, for those curious ones out there, I’ll provide the Harper Collins’ website description of the book:

“This shit would be really interesting if we weren’t in the middle of it.”
—Barack Obama, September 2008

In 2008, the presidential election became blockbuster entertainment. Everyone was watching as the race for the White House unfolded like something from the realm of fiction. The meteoric rise and historic triumph of Barack Obama. The shocking fall of the House of Clinton—and the improbable resurrection of Hillary as Obama’s partner and America’s face to the world. The mercurial performance of John McCain and the mesmerizing emergence of Sarah Palin. But despite the wall-to-wall media coverage of this spellbinding drama, remarkably little of the real story behind the headlines has yet been told.

In Game Change, John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, two of the country’s leading political reporters, use their unrivaled access to pull back the curtain on the Obama, Clinton, McCain, and Palin campaigns. How did Obama convince himself that, despite the thinness of his résumé, he could somehow beat the odds to become the nation’s first African American president? How did the tumultuous relationship between the Clintons shape—and warp—Hillary’s supposedly unstoppable bid? What was behind her husband’s furious outbursts and devastating political miscalculations? Why did McCain make the novice governor of Alaska his running mate? And was Palin merely painfully out of her depth—or troubled in more serious ways?

Game Changeanswers those questions and more, laying bare the secret history of the 2008 campaign. Heilemann and Halperin take us inside the Obama machine, where staffers referred to the candidate as “Black Jesus.” They unearth the quiet conspiracy in the U.S. Senate to prod Obama into the race, driven in part by the fears of senior Democrats that Bill Clinton’s personal life might cripple Hillary’s presidential prospects. They expose the twisted tale of John Edwards’s affair with Rielle Hunter, the truth behind the downfall of Rudy Giuliani, and the doubts of those responsible for vetting Palin about her readiness for the Republican ticket—along with the McCain campaign staff’s worries about her fitness for office. And they reveal how, in an emotional late-night phone call, Obama succeeded in wooing Clinton, despite her staunch resistance, to become his secretary of state.  (…cont..)

Dear Gayle,

Gayle, Gayle, Gayle…

You know that you’re my girl, but this was NOT AT ALL as phenomenal as you promoted it to be! 

Gayle, I trusted you on this one.  But, now I shake my head in dismay. 

I usually buy all of my books from Amazon.com at reasonable and sensible prices.  However, since you RAVED, OOOH’D and AAAHHH’D about this book, I rushed over to Barnes & Noble and purchased this hardcover at full retail price (a mistake I am sure never to repeat).  I’m sorry to tell that that, after reading Game Change, I can no longer take your book recommendations with 100% faith like I do with our girl Oprah’s book club selections. 

I now bestow upon you an official “A Novel Menagerie TISK TISK TISK Award” for glorifying this tremendously boring read as a supposed work of “non-fiction.”  During your interview show, the author claimed this book as factual based on the interviews hosted with numerous anonymous yet credible sources.   I seriously question the credibility and honesty of these alleged witnesses.  The authors definitely put a liberal (aka pro-Democratic) spin in this book.  And, honestly Gayle, I think you’re too politically biased to be able to take a fair and impartial look at Game Change.  (And, many would describe me as a middle-of-the road, yet a tree-hugging, fairly-liberal type.) 

Reading this book was my biggest waste of time year-to-date.  I find that many of the allegations in this book are greatly exaggerated, comparable to The Enquirer only in hardback.   The entire read had a “gossipy” feel.

Another thing I must add is that these authors seemingly have no compassion and display little respect for Secretary of State Clinton, Senator McCain or Governor Palin.  I can imagine that if I were in any one of their shoes, that I would have handled our country’s vigilante and out-of-control press in a much less graceful manner than any of them did.  Considering the press they were facing, I feel they all did a super job in handling themselves. 

Game Change  insinuated that Governor Palin was uneducated, unsophisticated, and neurotic.  I could not disagree with this book’s claims any more!  Also, the picture that was portrayed of Elizabeth Edwards was abhorrent.  But, I guess two men writing a book about strong, influential women is a tough task as they lack the mental and emotional intelligence to understand the true essence of a woman.  Frankly, by attempting to minimizing these fine women, the authors more reflected their own inadequaceies and emotional shallowness.

Gayle, I know how much you admire our President.  There are many things about him that I, too, find admirable.  Although he isn’t my favorite president ever, he is definitely a step up from some of our nation’s prior leaders.   However, don’t let your love for Obama cloud your opinion of other political players.  There is a lot of good to be discovered in many of our nation’s representatives, senators, and state leaders.  Rather than fueling more “bad press” about the our great nation’s corrupt politics, we should be promoting positive change and reinforcement of our elected officials.   

To sum up just how much I hated this book, I will share with you that I usually finish a book of this size within 2-4 days; this one took me nearly 10 days.  I found NO excitement, joy, or pleasure in reading this political rubbish.  You led me down the wrong path, girl!  Maybe you should stick to endorsing fiction, magazines, or fun reads that your female audience will enjoy as opposed to a controversial political rag.

At least my brother wants to read this and it won’t go as a complete waste.  

Still your fan and will listen always,

Sher

The Rating

FTC Disclosure:  I purchased this book at a retail establishment.  Clicking on the either the photo of the book cover or the link next to the purchase price stated above will bring you to my Amazon Affiliate page.  No purchases are necessary.