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Terri Cheney, author of the bestselling memoir, Manic, was on the Jared and Dean Words Cause Radio Show on Sunday, June 15^th. On the show, Ms. Cheney and I had a deep discussion about her book and how Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression) affected our lives. 

Ms. Cheney is a former entertainment lawyer who went to extreme measures to hide her illness from her employer and clients. On the show, she talked about how mania and hypomania would enable her to have waves of tremendous productivity, but how this productivity would be dramatically interrupted by deep depression. Both Ms. Cheney and I noted that many of bipolar people are extremely successful which might be a result of extended states of hypomania.

Manic is a very honest memoir that spares no shame or detail of how the disease shaped Ms. Cheney’s life.  She openly writes about her attempts at suicide, manic moments where her judgment was severely impaired and chaos of relationships. On the show, Ms. Cheney discussed a particularly difficult time when she was arrested for DUI (under the influence of prescription drugs) and how she was beaten by the authorities in jail. Ms. Cheney stated that this was the most difficult part of the book for her to write, but writing it helped her develop a new understanding of the situation and its causes.

While conventional wisdom believes that bipolar disorder occurs in most people in the late teens and early twenties, Ms. Cheney is convinced that manic depression is something she was born with.  She attempted suicide at age seven and developed an odd eating disorder very early on.  In her book she describes a time when she was made ill by eating inedible things like flour. Eating soothed her as a child when she was depressed, but because of a lack of understanding of the illness, her father tried to help her problem by putting her in an unconventional therapy for eating disorders.

Also, we discussed her moments of realization that ultimately enabled her to heal and accept her illness. Ms. Cheney outlines several points of insight, like acceptance of beauty in the face of ugliness and when she stopped hiding behind her former profession and openly invited others into her world.  In the end, she decides to embrace her illness and make it her purpose in life to help others better understand bipolar disorder.

Ms. Cheney is now working on a second memoir examining bipolar disorder in her childhood, with the hopes of shedding light on the subject from a first-hand perspective. Terry Cheney’s book, Manic is a very important work of literature that succeeds on its purpose and its impact.  I am looking forward to her second offering.

Listen to the interview with Terri Cheney on BlogTalkRadio.com or download it on iTunes (search for wordscause). To contact Terri Cheney, visit her website at http://www.terricheney.com.

About Manic, by Terri Cheney

Terri Cheney warns her readers that “manic depression is not a safe ride.” And she delivers on that warning.  The opening scene dives into traumatic suicide plot gone wrong in New Mexico and an ironic rescue from an exterminator. Her book is as emotional and unpredictable as the illness. She doesn’t follow conventional chronology of time in her memoir. Instead, she tells her story in terms of mood.  This is a particularly effective technique that bipolar people would immediately understand and one who is not bipolar should experience to truly understand how bipolar people understand the past. Cheney’s memoir guides the reader through amazing points of clarity and truth woven into chaotic and random behavior and confusing rationalization of impaired decisions. Hope and growth develop in the end and a grounded acceptance of her illness is the resolution, though her body is scared as a reminder of her journey.

Manic is a compelling work of literature. It is unconventional in form and content and is an important story. Manic is a must read for those who seek understanding of manic depression, but is a great selection for readers who want to experience a well written page-turner.

~DK