Surviving Manic Depression: A Manual on Bipolar Disorder for Patients, Families, and Providers

If knowing one's enemy is key to surviving a prolonged encounter, then Surviving Manic Depression should prove essential reading to those who suffer from this brain disease's horrific highs and lows. Having immersed themselves in the topic, E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., and Michael B. Knable, D.O., offer a comprehensive resource for those afflicted with--or responsible for treating--manic depression. Unfortunately, a surprisingly small amount of data exists regarding its prevalence, and existing studies show conflicting results.

Torrey and Knable's emphasis on dissecting all that is known about the disease clearly indicates that "survival" entails neither escape nor eradication; rather, it requires a lifelong pledge to undertake an effective course of treatment. The first step: learning every suspected cause, symptom, risk factor, and treatment strategy. Sprinkled among statistic-laden paragraphs, touches of empathy arrive via articulate quotations from sufferers including Patty Duke and Kay Jamison. But the crux of Torrey and Knable's work is its compilation of all the informative bits and pieces readers need to build an effective action plan. Most helpful are the chapters that address special problems (including alcohol and drug abuse, violent behavior, medication noncompliance, and the seduction of mania); and their no-holds-barred reviews of books, selected Web sites, and videotapes. --Liane Thomas