TOW#16 - An Unquiet Mind

Living life with Bipolar disorder, Kay Jamison explains in her memoir, leavers her with almost no control on her life. Awareness about mental illnesses has been increasing in past years, but she wrote her book to explain to people who do not have bipolar that it is much harder than they imagine. Throughout her life she has had to deal with many unreasonable people who do not treat her with the respect she deserved just because of her disorder. In order to explain this she uses her humor and writes out the sarcastic things she was thinking during an uncomfortable situation. “He broke in to ask me if I knew that manic- depressive illness was a genetic disease. Stifling for the moment an urge to remind him that I had spent my entire professional life studying manic-depressive illness and that, in any event, I wasn’t entirely stupid, I said ‘ yes of course’”(191). This quote shows how even if someone responds some way, it does not mean that is necessarily how they feel on the inside. When speaking to someone with an illness do not be fooled by their exteriors. Also, do not act as if they are stupid or underestimate them. Her sarcasm shows the reader what she has to go through throughout her entire life. Another strategy Jamison uses in her  book is quoting herself, in a way. Jamison will put quotes from her own journal entries. The entries are typically from times in her life where she was very ill, either depressed or manic. these diary entries will show the audience what being ill is actually like. It is usually unexpected by a healthy audience so it brings to light a harsh reality. I believe her memoir was very effective in helping me understand that I will never understand what having bipolar would actually be like. Using her humor and real life examples, her memoir allowed her readers into parts of her life.