Week Twelve Prompt Response

Full disclosure: I read this book about six years ago and have not read it since, but I kept it on my bookshelf because I enjoyed it, so I had easy access to it for this assignment.

Where is the book on the narrative continuum?

 

I would classify this memoir as a mix on the narrative continuum.

 

What is the subject of the book? 

 

Mental health

 

What type of book is it? 

 

Memoir

Appeals:

 

What is the pacing of the book? 

 

The pacing of this memoir is slower than some other straightforward memoirs might because of the amount of clinical or scientific information Jamison includes alongside her personal stories. Additionally, Jamison does not utilize a lot of white space; most of the pages have long sections of text split into one or two paragraphs, which makes for a more time-consuming read. 

 

Describe the characters of the book:

 

Although readers with bipolar disorder can still enjoy this memoir, Jamison’s writing suggests that she “intends for the reader ( . . . ) to observe [her] as separate” (citation). She defines bipolar disorder from the clinical perspective. Jamison also explores how the treatment, response to, and classification of bipolar disorder has changed over time, weaving the facts into the anecdotes Jamison tells about living with bipolar disorder, including how her symptoms have affected both her personal and professional lives. Jamison does not characterize herself as someone hindered only by her mental illness nor who is now stable and free of symptoms because neither characterization is accurate to her experience. As an example, speaking about her academic life, Jamison writes, “[m]y mercurial moods and recurrent, very black depression took a huge personal and academic toll during those college years (Jamison, 1996, p. 48). In contrast, when explaining how her mental illness affects her professional life working for a hospital, Jamison admits that this is a challenge but that her co-workers have never “had to contract [her psychiatrist] because of concerns about [her] clinical performance[,] [n]or ha[s] [she] ever had to give up [her] clinical privileges” (Jamison, 1996, p. 207)

 

How does the story feel?

 

This memoir has an overall melancholic feel, but as Jamison ages and, in particular, after she adjusts the amount of Lithium she was taking, as the previous dose caused her significant physical and mental side effects, the tone becomes more hopeful about the future.

 

What is the intent of the author?

 

Jamison’s intent with this memoir is to educate readers about bipolar disorder.

 

What is the focus of the story?

 

The focus of the story is Jamison’s experience with symptoms of bipolar disorder, the side effects of Lithium, a common medication prescribed for individuals with this mental illness, how Lithium has helped her, and her experiences as both a woman and an academic with a mental illness like bipolar disorder that is less commonly understood. Jamison cites research to supplement the anecdotes about her life experiences.

 

Does the language matter? 

 

Much of Jamison’s language is sharp-edged, but hidden within this blunt language are moments of more lyrical language. One example of a lyrical moment is when Jamison describes an experience she had with hypomania and her accompanying symptoms, stating, “[f]ragments of ideas, images, sentences, raced around and around in my head like the tigers in a children’s story. Finally, like those tigers, they became meaningless melted pools” (Jamison, 1996, p. 82).

 

Is the setting important and well-defined? 

 

The setting is only somewhat important; nevertheless, it is well-defined. Although Jamison moved a lot because of her father’s job, she writes the most about her time in Washington as a child, her year in Scotland, and her time in California working in many positions, including researcher and professor. Scotland was a healing experience for Jamison. Of St. Andrews in Scotland, she writes that it “provided a gentle forgetfulness over the preceding painful years of my life. It remains a haunting and lovely time to me, a marrow experience” (Jamison, 1996, p. 52). Jamison spent much time in California, which is also important to her story. Perhaps because of the time spent in California, it was a troublesome location for Jamison. As she explains when she faces the decision of having to go back to Los Angeles from England, “I was reluctant to leave England, and even more reluctant to return to a city I had come to associate not only with a grueling academic career but also with breakdowns, [and] the worn, cold, bloodlessness following in their wake . . .” (Jamison, 1996, p. 164).

 

Are there details, and if so, of what?

 

Jamison’s memoir does not have graphic elements; she only uses descriptive details, primarily in italicized clinical notes and poem excerpts. She also uses italics for the first part of the prologue, the first letter or few lines of most paragraphs and chapters, and the entirety of the epilogue. More generally, her attention to detail when recalling and retelling life experiences, including her travels, ideas, feelings, and actions, is extensive. 

 

Are there sufficient charts and other graphic materials? Are they useful and clear?

 

This memoir does not include charts or other graphic materials.

 

Does the book stress moments of learning, understanding, or experience?

 

The book emphasizes learning via teaching and the sharing of personal experiences.

 

Why would a reader enjoy this book (rank appeal)?

 

1) Mix on the narrative continuum

2) Subject (mental health)

2) Learning and sharing experiences 

 

References:

 

Jamison, K.R. (1996). An unquiet mind: A memoir of mood and madness. Vintage Books.