Terri Cheney

"I didn't tell anyone that I was going to Santa Fe to kill myself." On the outside, Terri Cheney was a highly successful, attractive Beverly Hills entertainment lawyer. But behind her seemingly flawless façade lay a dangerous secret—for the better part of her life Cheney had been battling debilitating bipolar disorder and concealing a pharmacy's worth of prescriptions meant to stabilize her moods and make her "normal." In bursts of prose that mirror the devastating highs and extreme lows of her illness, Cheney describes her roller-coaster life with shocking honesty—from glamorous parties to a night in jail; from flying fourteen kites off the edge of a cliff in a thunderstorm to crying beneath her office desk; from electroshock therapy to a suicide attempt fueled by tequila and prescription painkillers. With Manic, Cheney gives voice to the unarticulated madness she endured. The clinical terms used to describe her illness were so inadequate that she chose to focus instead on her own experience, in her words, "on what bipolar disorder felt like inside my own body." Here the events unfold episodically, from mood to mood, the way she lived and remembers life. In this way the reader is able to viscerally experience the incredible speeding highs of mania and the crushing blows of depression, just as Cheney did. Manic does not simply explain bipolar disorder—it takes us in its grasp and does not let go. In the tradition of Darkness Visible and An Unquiet Mind, Manic is Girl, Interrupted with the girl all grown up. This harrowing yet hopeful book is more than just a searing insider's account of what it's really like to live with bipolar disorder. It is a testament to the sharp beauty of a life lived in extremes.

A Memoir

Manic

From the "New York Times"-bestselling author of "Manic: A Memoir" comes a gripping and eloquent account of the awakening and unfolding of Cheney's bipolar disorder.

Growing Up Bipolar

The Dark Side of Innocence

With gripping narrative and hard-won wisdom, the NYT bestselling author tackles one of the most urgent and compelling questions of our times: What does mental illness look like, and what can we do about it? With suicide rates exploding and the rates of mental health diagnoses increasing, there has never been a greater need to grapple with the complexities of the troubled mind. Terri Cheney knows this first hand. In her bestselling memoir, Manic, Cheney offered a gripping, no-holds-barred account of her bipolar disorder that nearly killed her. Now, in Modern Madness, she brings her narrative gifts to a book that is rich with practical insight. Structured like an owner's manual (e.g., Instructions for Use, Troubleshooting, Maintenance, Warranties), Cheney portrays the experience of mental illness from the inside out, drawing on her own struggle and recovery to illuminate a world that often seems forbidding or frightening. Using narrative as a springboard, Cheney explores broader issues common to all diagnoses, like stigma, coping skills, relationship dilemmas, and the vicissitudes of treatment. With a clear focus on the need for acceptance, both personal and public, Modern Madness is riveting, heartbreaking, and ultimately, hopeful. Not just for readers with a diagnosis, it will be invaluable for anyone looking to understand mental illness. With suicide rates exploding and the rates of mental health diagnoses increasing, there has never been a greater need to grapple with the complexities of the troubled mind. Terri Cheney knows this first hand. In her bestselling memoir, Manic, Cheney offered a gripping, no-holds-barred account of her bipolar disorder that nearly killed her. Now, in Modern Madness, she brings her narrative gifts to a book that is rich with practical insight. Structured like an owner's manual (e.g., Instructions for Use, Troubleshooting, Maintenance, Warranties), Cheney portrays the experience of mental illness from the inside out, drawing on her own struggle and recovery to illuminate a world that often seems forbidding or frightening. Using narrative as a springboard, Cheney explores broader issues common to all diagnoses, like stigma, coping skills, relationship dilemmas, and the vicissitudes of treatment. With a clear focus on the need for acceptance, both personal and public, Modern Madness is riveting, heartbreaking, and ultimately, hopeful. Not just for readers with a diagnosis, it will be invaluable for anyone looking to understand mental illness.

An Owner's Manual

Modern Madness

a woman in pain, a life in chaos, the courage to fight a secret madness

growing up bipolar

The dark side of innocence

Terri Cheney ripped the covers off her secret battle with bipolar disorder in her New York Times bestselling memoir, Manic. Now, in this "stigma-buster" and "must-read", she blends a gripping narrative with practical advice (Elyn Saks). Cheney flips mental illness inside out, exposing the visceral story of the struggles, stigma, relationship dilemmas, treatments, and recovery techniques she and others have encountered. Sometimes humorous, sometimes harrowing, Modern Madness is the ultimate owner's manual on mental illness, breaking this complex subject down into readily understandable concepts like Instructions for Use, Troubleshooting, Maintenance, and Warranties. Whether you have a diagnosis, love or work with someone who does, or are just trying to understand this emerging phenomenon of our times, Modern Madness is a courageous clarion call for acceptance, both personal and public. With her candid and riveting writing, Cheney delivers more than heartbreak; she promises hope.

Terri Cheney

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