Book: Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood
Author: Jennifer Traig
What You Need to Know: Devil in the Details is about a girl with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and anorexia. She suffers from scrupulosity which is to say many of her obsessions and compulsions revolve around her religion. As a result, she is much more religious than her family and this drives a wedge between her and her parents and sister, Vicki. She has contamination fears so she eats differently than the rest of her family. Finally, she picks at her skin and even picks her nose which her mother can’t stand. I tried to be open-minded and understanding because every family deals with mental illness in their own way and mental illness is hard on the whole family. But I felt like her family never even made an effort to understand her, even though they eventually forced her on medication. They knew she had a mental illness, a medical condition. And they still mocked her for her compulsions. At least they expressed concern when her weird diet turned her orange. And even though I, too, have OCD I identified more with Vicki, the ultra-social, partying one.
Book: Detour: My Bipolar Road Trip in 4-D
Author: Lizzie Simons
What You Need to Know: Lizzie Simons takes a break from her fast-paced New York life to go on a road trip and interview young adults. Young adults with bipolar disorder. Such as herself. Such a fascinating cast of characters from impulsive possessive Nicholas to Matt who is quiet and works in a bookstore after recovering from his first manic episode. Lizzie’s psychotic episode at the beginning of the book (a result of being put on antidepressants which can skyrocket mania) broke my heart because she was all alone in a foreign country. There is a question hovering over the book the entire time and it is satisfied at the end. I really felt this was an important read for anyone with bipolar disorder. Lizzie Simons champions taking your medication and I completely agree. It can be hard for someone to accept they need them but bipolar disorder is a medical condition just like any other.
Book: Fast Girl: A Life Spent Running From Madness
Author: Suzy Hamilton
Olympic-runner turned high-class escort Suzy Hamilton describes how her bipolar disorder goes undiagnosed until she is in her early forties and by that time her brother is already dead from suicide (he had the condition as well). Suzy walks away from the Olympics with no medals but very impressive times. She is a disciplined runner; a perfectionist, listening to her father first, then her coach who suggests that perhaps she ought to wear two sports bras when she runs. She has trouble focusing in school which is attributed to a learning disability. When she starts seeking higher and higher thrills (like a threesome with her husband and an escort) she can’t give it up. Her husband consents to her being an escort (probably to save their marriage; they have a little girl). Maybe he senses something is wrong. It is only after she is outed by a journalist who shames her family that Suzy is brought in for treatment and seeks help. It is incredibly courageous of her to have written this book documenting her journey, her struggle; indeed, the struggle that everyone who has bipolar disorder deals with, and the choice of shame versus walking in the light.
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