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2 Burnside Psychology- Mood Disorders and Depression
1 Hawthorne Psychology- General Disorders

eBook editions

Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania

by Andy Behrman

Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania Cover

ISBN13: 9780812967081
ISBN10: 0812967089
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Electroboy is an emotionally frenzied memoir that reveals with kaleidoscopic intensity the terrifying world of manic depression. For years Andy Behrman hid his raging mania behind a larger-than-life personality. He sought a high wherever he could find one and changed jobs the way some people change outfits: filmmaker, PR agent, art dealer, stripper-whatever made him feel like a cartoon character, invincible and bright. Misdiagnosed by psychiatrists and psychotherapists for years, his condition exacted a terrible price: out-of-control euphoric highs and tornadolike rages of depression that put his life in jeopardy.

Ignoring his crescendoing illness, Behrman struggled to keep up appearances, clinging to the golden-boy image he had cultivated in his youth. But when he turned to art forgery, he found himself the subject of a scandal lapped up by the New York media, then incarcerated, then under house arrest. And for the first time the golden boy didnt have a ready escape hatch from his unraveling life. Ingesting handfuls of antidepressants and tranquilizers and feeling his mind lose traction, he opted for the last resort: electroshock therapy.

At once hilarious and harrowing, Electroboy paints a mesmerizing portrait of a man held hostage by his in-satiable desire to consume. Along the way, it shows us the New York that never sleeps: a world of strip clubs, after-hours dives, and twenty-four-hour coffee shops, whose cheap seductions offer comfort to the citys lonely souls. This unforgettable memoir is a unique contribution to the literature of mental illness and introduces a writer whose energy may well keep you up all night.

From the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Andy Behrman is a manic depressive who has undergone nineteen electroshock treatments. He has worked as a PR agent and an art dealer. His writing has been featured most recently in The New York Times Magazine. A graduate of Wesleyan University, he knows most of the all-night diners and after-hours bars in the major cities across the country. He currently lives mania-free on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. You can reach him at www.electroboy.com.

From the Hardcover edition.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:

Shoshana, December 29, 2009 (view all comments by Shoshana)
Behrman doesn't tell the reader what mania is like; he shows it. Reading Behrman is exhausting in an illuminating way. The frenetic exposition enacts mania nicely. In some ways, so does Behrman's emotional flatness in recounting some of his experiences. The memoir tends toward the linear recounting of events rather than the construction of the more-complex narrative I would have wished for, and I would have preferred more self-reflection at points throughout. Still, it's a very good, unvarnished look at how intoxicating, and how debilitating, bipolar disorder can be.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780812967081
Author:
Behrman, Andy
Publisher:
Random House Trade
Location:
New York
Subject:
General
Subject:
Mental Illness
Subject:
Specific Groups - Special Needs
Subject:
Electroconvulsive therapy
Subject:
Depressed persons
Subject:
Manic-depressive persons
Subject:
Personal Memoirs
Subject:
General Biography
Subject:
Biography - General
Copyright:
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Series Volume:
no. UT-02.05
Publication Date:
20030231
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
304
Dimensions:
8.16x5.14x.68 in. .52 lbs.

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