Another Kind of Madness: A Journey Through the Stigma and Hope of Mental Illness

This book is very detailed and very honest about a family’s journey through mental illness and really tells the truth about some things that I experience growing up with a dad who suffered from depression but we never talked about

I first became aware of Dr. Hinshaw through his lectures on The Great Courses, about the development of the human mind. Trust me when I tell you he made it extraordinarily interesting. As the course continued, it addressed what happens when the development goes awry, leading to various mental illnesses. His penultimate lecture traced the mental illness in his own family, tracing his father's heartbreaking journey.This is what led me to this book. I won't repeat the surprising and devastating cost of mental illnesses (I'll leave that to Dr. Hinshaw), but I defy anyone who reads this book to deny the cost it has had to their own family or friends.The other theme of Dr. Hinshaw's book is the need to create a narrative, to de-stigmatize mental illness through narratives. This book will help readers understand why allowances must be made, and stigma erased.A quote from Maya Angelou... "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." The story of the Hinshaw family is one of extreme sorrow, and triumph. It will leave you shattered and uplifted, and maybe hopeful.After reading this book, I believe we need to re-think our definition of HERO. It usually refers to someone who, on an adrenaline high, performs an astonishingly altruistic act, contrary to their own self-preservation... a "one and done" event. BUT! What about those who, every day, pick up their boulder, strap it on their back, and show up for life, playing the cards they were dealt with all the dignity and grace they can muster. Aren't they the real heroes?Please read this book. You and those you know who face the daily struggle of dealing with the demons of mental illness will be darn glad you did.

I'm not sure I can think of another book that shed this much light on mental illness for me. Besides being as well-written (and therefore enjoyable to read) as a really good novel, and a poignant and challenging memoir, and a view of serious mental illness, stigma, and their impact on families, this is some serious enlightenment for anybody who's lived with or around mental illness and its stigmas. I never had much of a grasp on what "stigma" meant before, except that it meant a sort of mark against you, or a blot in your copybook (as they say). But it's much more; which I've seen up close but never recognized or been able to articulate before. As another reviewer wrote, this book makes me want to move into advocacy.

The social sciences and the field of psychology need more books like this one. The book is an extremely engaging story, a personal memoir, of what we can learn from the author's experiences that shed light on many themes of concern to psychologists, sociologists, helping professionals and therapists, as well as everyday people. The author has a knack for writing a memoir that reads like a novel where the tangible images, and the inner thoughts and feelings from decades ago, leap off the page. And, at the same time, Steve Hinshaw knows how to make extremely relevant side comments about what he has learned, and what we can learn, from these experiences. Sometimes, the lessons are very personal--getting in touch with our emotions and the emotions of our family members and loved ones. Sometimes the insights are for expert therapists and academic psychologists about the complexities of psychopathology, diagnosis and treatment; sometimes we learn about the dynamics of social stigma and how people learn to be ashamed or go into hiding, when there are healthier, more loving and personally fulfilling options to pursue. For those of us who aspire to be engaging and instructive writers, there is much to learn in thinking about the style and methods used in writing this book. I'd give it six stars if Amazon allowed me to do so. I will be recommending this book, not only to my graduate students in psychology, but to those in other fields of education and social sciences, because the author has written a book that shows how memoir writing can be both compelling and worthwhile in its own right, and how we can use individual stories to improve our understanding of "bigger picture" ideas and issues.

I would write my own review but the first few positive reviews here really capture the book and say all I would say and more. I'm so moved by this book.

In this richly detailed personal and family history, Hinshaw reveals many important truths about mental illness and families. Secrets, though perhaps well-meaning, can have long-lasting downstream consequences. Hinshaw tells the story of his father's struggles with bipolar disorder, but he also does much more. He tells the story of relationships: between father and son, sister and brother, mother and son, and how the the silence and stigma of mental illness can impact not only individuals, but relationships. Hinshaw tells the story of his own life as well, poignantly capturing his early years in the midwest filled with school, sports, friends, and inexplicable disappearances by his father who would be gone from the family for weeks or months at a time. Amazingly, Hinshaw's mother was able to keep the family together and keep the real reasons for his father's absences (stays in various hospitals for treatment of bipolar disorder) under wraps. Yet, even before Hinshaw's father began sharing the real reasons for his times away from home with his son, the impact of the secrets, however well kept, were influencing young Steve. Once the secrets were revealed, slowly over the course of years, Hinshaw candidly and helpfully shares how this information influenced his own life and career.This book will be loved by anyone who values a family story as it covers many generations and relationships. It will also be loved by those who want to better understand mental illness, as it reveals clearly and critically that mental illness is not something that need be hidden nor is it something that necessarily limits a life.Highly recommend!!

A brilliant book, informative to the lay reader and for those suffering similar illness. I do find it hard to understand how the professionals misdiagnosed schizophrenia instead of bipolar. Mental health is not a finite condition, it isn't physical so you can't see it. I think treatment of mental health and those suffering have a long way to go both in attitudes, the treatment and also funding specially in the UK

A great book which analyses the history of treatment of manic depression and its effects on a family of the stigma of secrecy. It is beautifully written and very moving

It’s slow...Had such high hopes and sadly it didn’t deliver. Focused more on the sons life and perception than the fathers trials.Sad to say I didn’t finish reading it. Couldn’t get into it.