Synopses & Reviews
Bipolar is one of the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric conditions among teens and twenty-somethings--yet there are very few books out there written specifically for young people experiencing mental illness for the first time.
Welcome to the Jungle (Conari Press, May 2010) fills that gap with its upfront, empowering approach to the challenges of being diagnosed with bipolar. Both humorous and immensely honest, it offers a true "in the trenches" perspective young readers will trust.
With chapters ranging from What Just Happened?: Life Beyond Diagnosis to Here Be Downers: Drugs, Booze, and Suicide to Hippy Shit That Actually Works: Herbs, Wilderness Time, and Other Ways to Help Keep Your Shit Together to Hell is Finding Good Insurance: How to Get Your Ass Covered in Troubled Times, Smith brings bipolar self help to the street level.
Review
"This book is flat-out fantastic. Funny, smart, and unflinchingly astute, Welcome to the Jungle is exactly the guide you want on your journey from chaos to stability as you learn to manage bipolar disorder. Smith's sure voice is a welcome companion over some hard road, and her wry wisdom lights the way. Indispensable." --Marya Hornbacher, author of Madness: A Bipolar Life
Review
"Hilary Smith's wise, hilarious, and candid book is a veritable lifesaver not only for those suffering from bipolar disorder, but for those struggling to keep their sanity while loving them. Maybe because the author suffers from the disorder herself, her book is an actual survival guide, brimming with insight, anecdote, and tough love. Recovery was never so inspiring." --Allison Burnett, author of Undiscovered Gyrl
Review
"Hilary Smith has come through big time with a book about bipolar disorder targeted to teens or 20-somethings experiencing mental illness for the first time." ―
Washington Post
Review
"
VERDICT Among the wealth of works on bipolar, this title (wisely pulled from a Guns N' Roses lyric) nicely stands out as a super reference for younger readers interested in or actually experiencing bipolar disorder and is also a valuable resource for professionals." ―
Library Journal
Review
"By far the best, most comprehensive self-help book out there about bipolar disorder. Hilary Smith's incredible sense of humor, candor, and wit make her guide both easy to read and a pleasure and a laugh riot. Every person with bipolar (or family member or friend) should read this book as soon as possible. This book will save lives." --Andy Behrman, author of Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania
Review
"Hilary Smith writes with candor, cleverness and sharp wit, bringing to light what those with bipolar already know: That just because you've been diagnosed with a mental illness doesn't mean you've lost your insight, intelligence or playful (and often self-mocking) sense of humor. Welcome to the Jungle astutely captures the roller coaster of emotions that accompany bipolar--from trenchant despair to uproarious mania--and does so in a way that never alienates the reader, but rather sucks you in and keeps you wanting to go along for the ride. Writing with a wisdom and faculty well beyond her years, Smith had me laughing out loud--not at her, but with her. Whether you're a teen for whom the diagnosis of bipolar is as raw and fresh as a snipped nerve, or in your 20s struggling with the disease for what seems like decades, Welcome to the Jungle is the quintessential young person's companion." --Malina Saval, author of The Secret Lives of Boys: Inside the Raw Emotional World of Male Teens
Synopsis
A Bipolar Guide from a Bipolar PersonWelcome to the Jungle has a greater focus on bipolar people, not the diagnosis: the ways in which each person can find his or her own way through the extreme emotional states and intense experiences that we are calling "bipolar"--whether that means medication or meditation, psychiatrists or vision quests, good sleep or good all-night dancing, or a little bit of everything.
An honest, relatable book that can help you figure out how to live your life with bipolar disorder. Many bipolar books are too clinical, too alarmist, and too clearly written for family members and caretakers of people diagnosed with this mood disorder. Welcome to the Jungle is different. Author Hilary Smith wrote this guide because it is the book she wishes she'd been given when she was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It answers questions, points to resources, and most of all, comes from someone who understands what it's like to be thrown off course by an overwhelming mental health issue--and what to do afterwards.
Know that you are not alone--and that many paths can lead to healing. Just like for everyone else, there are many, many paths that bipolar people can take in life. Learn more about how to live your own life with a mental illness using the help of the insights in Welcome to the Jungle, which covers topics such as:
- Wrapping your head around triggers, causes of mood swings, medications, and therapists
- Recovering from mental breakdowns, manic moments, and major depressive episodes
- Living your life beyond the diagnosis--and helping your family to do the same
Readers of bipolar mental health books like The Bipolar Workbook, Rock Steady, or OMG That's Me will love the devastatingly on-target, honest insights offered in Welcome to the Jungle.
*This book is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any illness or act as a substitute for advice from a doctor or psychiatrist.*
About the Author
Hilary T. Smith is a brilliant young writer and artist living largely off the grid (but very reachable by email and snail mail--and telephone, when necessary) in the Pacific Northwest.