Kindle
$4.99
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$6.58
Paperback
$12.58
Buy used:
$6.58
$3.98 delivery May 21 - 22. Details
Or fastest delivery Wednesday, May 15. Order within 8 hrs 1 min. Details
Used: Good | Details
Sold by glenthebookseller
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc...
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Bryony Gordon
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Mad Girl Hardcover – December 27, 2016

by Bryony Gordon (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 4,582 ratings
See all formats and editions

A new Sunday Times bestseller from Bryony Gordon, Telegraph columnist and author of the bestselling The Wrong Knickers. For readers who enjoyed Matt Haig's Reasons to Stay Alive and Ruby Wax's Sane New World, Mad Girl is a shocking, funny, unpredictable, heart-wrenching, raw and jaw-droppingly truthful celebration of life with mental illness.

'I loved it. A brilliant fast and funny and frank look at something that absolutely needs to be talked about in this way' Matt Haig

Bryony Gordon has OCD.

It's the snake in her brain that has told her ever since she was a teenager that her world is about to come crashing down: that her family might die if she doesn't repeat a phrase 5 times, or that she might have murdered someone and forgotten about it. It's caused alopecia, bulimia, and drug dependency. And Bryony is sick of it. Keeping silent about her illness has given it a cachet it simply does not deserve, so here she shares her story with trademark wit and dazzling honesty.

A hugely successful columnist for the Telegraph, a bestselling author, and a happily married mother of an adorable daughter, Bryony has managed to laugh and live well while simultaneously grappling with her illness. Now it's time for her to speak out. Writing with her characteristic warmth and dark humour, Bryony explores her relationship with her OCD and depression as only she can.

Mad Girl is a shocking, funny, unpredictable, heart-wrenching, raw and jaw-droppingly truthful celebration of life with mental illness.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Headline
  4. Publication date
    December 27, 2016
  5. Dimensions
    5.59 x 1.14 x 8.74 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1472232089
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1472232083
  8. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Popular Highlights in this book
What are popular highlights?
Previous page
  1. Only when I started to believe that I deserved something more than misery did I get something more than misery.
    Highlighted by 247 Kindle readers
  2. What I will say is this: mental illness can make you staggeringly selfish. Sometimes, the noise inside your head becomes so utterly intolerable that you don’t for a minute stop to think of how it might make anyone else feel.
    Highlighted by 157 Kindle readers
  3. Everyone has degrees of madness in them, everyone has a story to tell.
    Highlighted by 154 Kindle readers
Next page

Editorial Reviews

Review

Part of the necessary and continuing conversation around mental illness―The Telegraph

What a book! I read this like a thriller, I was so gripped. I feel comforted by this book; by the honesty, insight, compassion, and the beautiful writing. Mad Girl is going to be seismic―Marian Keyes

A powerful and intimate look at the way our minds can torment us, this honest and rather beautiful book will bring comfort to those who fear they are alone in their madness―Cathy Rentzenbrink

Darkly funny and deeply serious―The Guardian

Funny, warm and fearlessly honest. This book is a must for anyone who's ever lost their mind but was too polite to mention it―Sali Hughes

I loved it. A brilliant fast and funny and frank look at something that absolutely needs to be talked about in this way―Matt Haig

About the Author

In the 15 years that she has worked for The Telegraph, Bryony Gordon has become one of the paper's best loved writers. Her weekly column in the Sunday Telegraphhas won her an army of fans who have followed her journey from single girl about town to - finally! - settled mum. Bryony is now 35 and lives in Nappy Valley (Clapham) with her baby daughter Edie and her husband, a financial journalist. The last sentence is one she never thought she would see written down on paper.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Headline (December 27, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1472232089
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1472232083
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.01 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.59 x 1.14 x 8.74 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 4,582 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Bryony Gordon

Bryony Gordon

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
4,582 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

miss katy henry
5.0 out of 5 stars SO REAL, RELATABLE, VALIDATING AND FUNNY.
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2020
Verified Purchase
Absolutely loved reading this. It made me think about my own mental health struggles and self medicating/destructive behaviors and made me cry when relating to the breakthroughs Bryony had of what's important in life and the small things making all the difference, let alone the blessings of a good man and having a child. But the pure honesty that mental health struggles are always there. This book makes you remember that everything is OK and to carry on.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Julez
4.0 out of 5 stars Good, fast
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2017
Verified Purchase
Good, fast, read. It was nice to read about someone with pretty intense OCD symptoms, who was not placed in the 'system'. Gave me hope, that I too can get better...that our pasts do not define our futures. It is real, honest, and uplifting...just not a deep read, which I usually go for.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
B. Claypole White
5.0 out of 5 stars Raw, dark, hilarious
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2016
Verified Purchase
A raw, dark, quirky, unforgettable memoir, MAD GIRL is compulsive reading about life inside a mixed-up mind. I share my family with a sick bastard called OCD, so much of this story is heart-breakingly familiar. I applaud Bryony Gordon for showing us every ugly, dark, hungover corner she's crawled out of, for demystifying this often misunderstood illness, for spreading a story of hope, and for making me laugh. Because really, if you can't find humor in all this, how do you hold on to sanity?
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly relatable.
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2016
Verified Purchase
This book really got to the heart of it for me. It tackled so many different issues that a person can have and didn't disparage it in a way to make you feel bad if you have gone through similar things yourself. Instead of her just having one "thing wrong" with her, she has several, and as a person that has also had many things wrong with my head, I appreciated this open attitude towards it.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Paul D.
5.0 out of 5 stars Unflinching- a life laid bare.
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2017
Verified Purchase
Brutally honest, Bryony Gordon is a very brave woman to share the most intimate, embarrassing, frightening and down-right craziest moments from a life lived to the full despite the mental health issues that plagued her life. Ultimately, an uplifting and inspiring read. Highly recommended along with Matt Haig's Reasons To Stay Alive.
Helpful
 Report
Michele
3.0 out of 5 stars I did like reading it though
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2017
Verified Purchase
It was not my cup of tea. Just saying. I did like reading it though.
Helpful
 Report
Jimjam
4.0 out of 5 stars Funny and sad and silly and insightful at the same time
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2017
Verified Purchase
Good to know there are other people as mad as you are. Makes you suspect you might actually be normal.
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Gordon is a great writer who kept me engaged the entire time I ...
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2017
Verified Purchase
A very eye-opening story about mental health. As someone who has suffered from mental health issues in the past, it was reassuring while also being incredibly petrifying. Gordon is a great writer who kept me engaged the entire time I was reading. I finished it in less than a day.
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Leyre Medina
5.0 out of 5 stars Great, funny book explaining how it is to live with a mental illness
Reviewed in Germany on September 16, 2023
Verified Purchase
It's a very funny, well written book about the author's own life. How she went from thinking "normal" to being a slave to her brain and her struggles to deal with it. I never knew how I'd be like to have a mental illness; now I (and millions of people) know. Thank you to open my eyes to this reality
Report
sophie ruggles
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read and even greater message
Reviewed in Spain on December 1, 2022
Verified Purchase
This story of the suffering involved in mental illness and OCD is very well told, raw and honest. Highly recommended read.
Report
C Knight
5.0 out of 5 stars There is no shame in being a Mad Girl
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 19, 2021
Verified Purchase
“when you are well, you cannot even begin to imagine the places that you went to in your head…”

If nothing else, this sentence from Bryony Gordon’s Mad Girl is worth more than a thought. It really resonated with me. There are days that I can’t believe where my thought process had led me and the irrationality that I have indulged over the past few years. But the whole journey Gordon shares is something really worth spending time reading.

For me (naively), my understanding of OCD was the washing of hands, the multiple checks of the door being locked. But it is so much more. The brain is in overdrive in its thought processing. Gordon’s account of her need to control because of the OCD is very raw and shocking but incredibly brave. Her personification of her OCD is brilliant “evil, but ever so slightly enticing…” just perfect in choice – when you read it, you’ll understand why!

The story of Paul made me well up. No person who professes to love you should make you feel like shit and Paul was that person. Gordon’s recollection of this relationship is heart breaking but it’s something that happens oh so often and shouldn’t. People shouldn’t have their self esteem shattered by someone they love. And yes, Paul is not his real name.

the only person who has ever been able to deliver me a break is, um, me.

As Gordon shared how she talked about her problems with her boss in tears, I was there. These are not easy conversations. Showing vulnerability to a manager even one who’s a friend and is understanding takes a lot and Gordon really portrays this.

Gordon’s journey is a long one and it’s not over but she knows she has a support network when she has a wobble (or worse). She has her coping mechanisms which is something to aspire to.

I have to say, I’ve made this book sound very heavy but it’s not. Bryony Gordon is a brilliant storyteller. She gives even her darkest moments an air of lightness but not to the extent of frivolity. No, her writing is jovial but with a deep sense of realism. I have The Wrong Knickers sat in my bookshelf which, as she points out in Mad Girl, is a very different read. But I will still indulge as I love her writing style and I will be acquiring her other books to read.

Mad Girl is a stark reality of someone with problems, problems that they can’t control and possibly don’t fully understand. It gave me comfort that what I’ve experienced mentally over the past few years in coming to terms with my physical health, the effects of lockdown and dealing problems with work isn’t abnormal. My only regret is I didn’t read this sooner. Mad Girl is not a manual or a cure for mental health problems at all. It’s a kind of comforting hot chocolate to reassure you that what you’re experiencing or have experienced is normal and shouldn’t be anything to be ashamed of.
10 people found this helpful
 Report
lara
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling!
Reviewed in Canada on February 25, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is such a sad and funny book. The writing is phenomenal. I got to the half way point then panicked it was going to end and had to slow myself down. A must read.
Report
Mrs Sera Minchin
5.0 out of 5 stars Confronting
Reviewed in Australia on April 5, 2017
Verified Purchase
Absolutely brilliant!!! Everyone who has mental illness or who cares about anyone with mental illness should read this. I love the fact that Bryony wrote about her life without hiding her personal struggles!!!
Report