MORE OR LESS MADDY
Lisa Genova
Simon and Schuster Canada
January 14, 2025
368 pages
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I have just taken a journey into the world of a person who has been diagnosed as bipolar. Wow! What an interesting but mostly scary and uncomfortable journey it has been.
Lisa Genova is a neurologist-scientist but she brings the complexity of the disorder to a layman’s level.
The reader meets Maddy, a young lady who is just starting university. It is common for bipolar disorder to show up in a person in their teens. The story illustrates how the disorder has a ripple effect on family, friends, day-to-day life. We quickly see both the manic side and the depressive side. Neither one is preferable over the other.
Parts of the book were difficult to read, but compelling at the same time. Mental illness is not spoken of very much, even in this day and age. And, often family members tend to hide it, something to be ashamed of.
I was hoping that Maddy would be able to get her challenges under control. Watching the incredible swings between manic and depressive was very emotional for me. Watching her reaction to drug therapy is difficult. Sometimes it is a challenge to find the right combination of drugs as everyone is different. Maddy’s struggle is real.
Due to Ms Genova’s profession, I have complete confidence that this is an accurate depiction of bipolar disorder. Because it does not have clear edges, nor is it definitive, it is very difficult to understand that the brain can affect a person as it does. Kudos to her for all the in-depth research she did. Ms Genova even interviewed a Starbucks barista to ensure Maddie’s part-time job was depicted accurately.
In the author’s note at the end of the book, Ms Genova says: “I hope that this novel helps to humanize this disorder.”
I’m reporting back: Yes, it does!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
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