I do not have bipolar disorder like my father did and other relatives do, but have dealt with OCD, anxiety, and depression off and on from age thirteen forward. Throughout my (and my father's) mental illness journey and in the course of writing WWMF, countless hours have succumbed to the duties of researching and exploring bipolar and other mental illnesses. I am not a medical expert but I do think my compass and intentions point true on bringing light to these realities of life. If you disagree with my selections, commentary, or something you find askance in WWMF, please tell me! We all learn from discussion and dialogue.
I wrote
Words with My Father: A Bipolar Journey Through Turbulent Times
Whenever I hear or read almost any of Poe's stories, his mastery of musicality and rhythm never fails to mesmerize and delight.
His poems and prose capture the human psyche so acutely and meld genres so astutely. In editing my father's work and in my own writing, I've made a conscious effort to not confine storylines to one genre, mood or feeling. Doing so requires finesse with narrative tension, a skill Poe perfected.
Revisit some of his masterpieces in this collection, perhaps paired with something lighter to counterbalance his darkness.
Edgar Allan Poe is credited with having pioneered the short story, having perfected the tale of psychological horror, and having revolutionised modern poetics. The entirety of Poe's body of imaginative work encompasses detective tales, satires, fables, fantasies, science fiction, verse dramas, and some of the most evocative poetry in the English language. This omnibus edition collects all of Poe's fiction and poetry in a single volume, including The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Pit and the Pendulum,." "The Raven," "Annabel Lee," the full-length novel "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket", and much more.…
Whether one can detect TR's likely bipolar condition from the vast array of moods and messaging in these deeply personal and candid letters remains subjective.
What comes through as undebatable, however, is the level of tenderness, vulnerability, playfulness, and sentiment that our 26th President (who proudly accepted his Bull Moose and Rough Rider monikers) reveals here.
Though a handful of the editor's selections seem too esoteric, the remainder holds special appeal to me because my father's "letters/apologies to (his) grandchildren" informed the core of my book.
This collection of letters from the 26th President of the United States to his six children was an immediate bestseller when it was originally published in 1919, shortly after Roosevelt's death. Written between 1898 and 1911, the letters show Roosevelt as a devoted and encouraging father, with a sense of humor and a skilled sketching hand.
Though her style has always struck me as danger-close to tabloid and disjointed, nobody ever said those traits couldn't result in coffee-through-nostrils hilarity and knockout via punchline.
Fisher's particular brand of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll certainly didn't help with her bipolar management. All the same, her unhinged lifestyle did deliver a bevy of dramatic and somewhat instructive anecdotes.
She captures the chaos with such wit and bite in Postcards from the Edge and Shockaholic, but if you have to choose just one book, go with Wishful Drinking.
In WISHFUL DRINKING, Carrie Fisher tells the true and intoxicating story of her life with inimitable wit. Born to celebrity parents, she was picked to play a princess in a little movie called Star Wars when only 19 years old. "But it isn't all sweetness and light sabres." Alas, aside from a demanding career and her role as a single mother (not to mention the hyperspace hairdo), Carrie also spends her free time battling addiction, weathering the wild ride of manic depression and lounging around various mental institutions. It's an incredible tale - from having Elizabeth Taylor as a stepmother,…
The thorns of Twain's personal life and literary career only heighten our intrigue with him.
For me, he's a tragic figure whose parade of misfortunes interrupted by periods of commercial success and critical acclaim followed by further failures result in an exceptionally bipolar history. His classic novels should persist as required reading but I find his short stories equally satisfying.
This volume is voluminous, so here are some favorites to start: "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg," "Was it Heaven? Or Hell?" and "Luck."
These sixty satirical, rollicking, uproarious tales by the greatest yarn-spinner in our literary history are as fresh and vivid as ever more than a century after their author’s death. Mark Twain’s famous novels Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn have long been hailed as major achievements, but the father of American literature also made his mark as a master of the humorous short story. All the tales he wrote over the course of his lengthy career are gathered here, including such immortal classics as “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg," “The Diary of Adam and…
Lowell Klessig’s posthumously-released story, infused with reflections by his son Lukas, provides an intimate window into one man’s life in flux with bipolar disorder. As the author narrates a postwar upbringing and describes the manic-depressive travails of developing his identity, he offers us a view into the turmoil of the times – and his mind.
Through mania- and danger-filled months fighting for Civil Rights, protesting the Vietnam War and furthering the Conservation Movement, we see the purpose that sustained him. Through darkened panes, we witness the isolation and malaise of depressive winters that nearly took his life. This masterful chronicle allows us to peer into a restless and kinetic existence in one moment and a chasm of fatigue and hopelessness. It’s a bipolar journey that you won’t ever forget.
About myself: As a novelist I’m crazy for detail. I believe it’s the odd and unexpected aspects of life that bring both characters and story worlds to life. This means that I try to be an observer at all times, keeping alert and using all five – and maybe six – senses. My perfect writing morning begins with a dog walk in the woods or on a beach, say, while keeping my senses sharp to the world around me and listening out for the first whisper of what the day’s writing will bring.
This book is a literary historical novel. It is set in Britain immediately after World War II, when people – gay, straight, young, and old - are struggling to get back on track with their lives, including their love lives. Because of the turmoil of the times, the number of losses, and the dangerous and peculiar circumstances people find themselves in, sexual mores have become shaken and stirred.
But what happened after the war, in the time of healing and settling down? This novel examines the emotional, romantic, and sexual lives of three characters searching for a way to proceed.
Love never dies in this novel by “a writer of addictive emotional thrillers” (The Independent).
Told from three perspectives A Particular Man is about love, truth and the unpredictable consequences of loss.
When Edgar dies in a Far East prisoner-of-war camp it breaks the heart of fellow prisoner Starling. In Edgar’s final moments, Starling makes him a promise. When, after the war, he visits Edgar’s family, to fulfil this promise, Edgar's mother Clementine mistakes him for another man.
Her mistake allows him access to Edgar’s home and to those who loved him, stirring powerful and disorientating emotions, and embroiling him…
