Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See

A studio executive leaves his family and travels the world giving free reign to the bipolar disorder he's been forced to hide for 20 years.

In her tour-de-force first novel, Juliann Garey takes us inside the restless mind, ravaged heart, and anguished soul of Greyson Todd, a successful Hollywood studio executive who leaves his wife and young daughter and for a decade travels the world giving free reign to the bipolar disorder he's been forced to keep hidden for almost 20 years. The novel intricately weaves together three timelines: the story of Greyson's travels (Rome, Israel, Santiago, Thailand, Uganda); the progressive unraveling of his own father seen through Greyson's eyes as a child; and the intimacies and estrangements of his marriage. The entire narrative unfolds in the time it takes him to undergo twelve 30-second electroshock treatments in a New York psychiatric ward. This is a literary page-turner of the first order, and a brilliant inside look at mental illness.

"Garey evokes in stark detail the torment and raw suffering of mental illness. A compelling read." Library Journal, Starred Review

"A racing vertiginous read, harrowing and heart-breaking and humorous at once." Daniel Mason, author of The Piano Tuner

"Garey breathes life into an uncomfortable and often misunderstood subject and creates a riveting experience." Kirkus Reviews

"As heartbreaking as The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and as hilarious as A Confederacy of Dunces, I think Garey is a genius." Jennifer Belle, author of High Maintenance and The Seven Year Bitch

"This is an important novel, an eye-opener, and, at times, a white-knuckle horror show in its depiction of mental illness." David Abrams, author of Fobbit

A studio executive leaves his family and travels the world giving free reign to the bipolar disorder he's been forced to hide for 20 years.
"You won't be able to put down this exhilarating debut novel... brave and touching."
--Marie Claire
In her tour-de-force first novel, Juliann Garey takes us inside the restless mind, ravaged heart, and anguished soul of Greyson Todd--a successful Hollywood studio executive who leaves his wife and young daughter for a decade to travel the world, giving free reign to the bipolar disorder he's been forced to keep hidden for almost 20 years. The novel intricately weaves together three timelines: the story of Greyson's travels (Rome, Israel, Santiago, Thailand, Uganda); the progressive unraveling of his own father seen through Greyson's childhood eyes; and the intricacies and estrangements of his marriage. The entire narrative unfolds in the time it takes him undergo twelve 30-second electroshock treatments in a New York psychiatric ward.

Juliann Garey has sold original screenplays and television pilots to Sony Pictures, NBC, CBS, Columbia TriStar Television and Lifetime TV. As a journalist she has edited and written for publications including Marie Claire, Glamour, More, Entertainment Weekly, Elle, New York Magazine, The Los Angeles Times and The Huffington Post. She has received fellowships in fiction writing at The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and The Vermont Studio Center. Garey is a graduate of Yale University and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Too Bright To Hear Too Loud To See is her first novel.