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The Bipolar Therapist: A Journey from Madness to Love and Meaning
BIPOLAR THERAPIST IS NOT AN OXYMORON
When a sudden onset of manic episodes lands her in a psychiatric ward, what is a an established, respected psychotherapist to do? With an otherwise firm sense of self and an openness to new insights, Berger confronts the stumbling blocks of shame and stigma. A series of close friends and mentors stand by her through challenges with abusive colleagues, conflicted relationships with men, estrangement from her mother, and confusion about what truly matters.
The Bipolar Therapist is the only memoir that shows a complete recovery from bipolar disorder and describes how the author’s times as a psychiatric inpatient influenced her work positively as a psychotherapist serving psychiatric and alcoholic inpatients. Berger’s story hinges upon resilience, perseverance, drive, and courage.
EDITORIAL REVIEWS
“The Bipolar Therapist takes some of the mystery out of bipolar disorder. By describing her times of madness and her resulting insights, Berger enhances understanding and helps decrease the shame people with
similar challenges often experience. This memoir takes on a serious topic, seasoning it with excitement, humor, and hope.”
— Edward M. Hallowell, MD, author of Because I Come from a Crazy Family
“As a psychiatrist working in a hospital that treats people with severe mental illnesses, I can say stigma is a major topic in psychiatry. Bipolar disorder has been gaining more acceptance recently. Yet there’s a long way to go before people who have it or another mental illness will get the respect and compassion that people with a physical disease receive. By telling her story in an accessible way in The Bipolar Therapist, Berger brilliantly advances this cause.”
— Saul Gorman, MD
“Fast-paced and stimulating, a must read! With unflinching honesty, Marcia Naomi Berger recounts in her latest book, The Bipolar Therapist, which reads like a novel, her downward spiral into the abyss and her courageous road to recovery.”
— Nancy Rosenfeld, co-author of New Hope for People with
Bipolar Disorder
“As a psychologist who’s treated many patients with bipolar disorder, I congratulate Berger for writing
this book. She shows that people with this illness can conquer its challenges and lead full, multifaceted lives. As more people bypass secrecy and share their mental illness-related journeys, we’ll see less shame and more self-acceptance and pride.”
— Pamela Butler, PhD, author of Talking to How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Can Change Your Life
“In her well-written book, The Bipolar Therapist, Berger shares her struggle with bipolar disorder during her twenties and thirties. Berger’s story assists in the movement to replace prejudice against those with mental illness with respect, compassion, and understanding. Bravo!”
— Linda Bloom, co-author of An End to Arguing
“Marcia Naomi Berger’s first-person account of her journey and transformation is courageous. As she writes, ‘Someone
with mental illness is much bigger and more complex than their diagnosis.’ ”
— Francis Lu, MD, Kim Professor in Cultural Psychiatry, Emeritus, UC Davis
“Berger’s voice is direct, authentic, and spare, yet full of life and intelligence. I am fascinated and uplifted.”
— Carol Olicker, MSW
“Berger’s compelling memoir lifts the veil hiding the truth about many therapists who we may think are more psychologically healthy than ourselves.
When a sudden onset of manic episodes lands her in a psychiatric ward, what is a an established, respected psychotherapist to do? With an otherwise firm sense of self and an openness to new insights, Berger confronts the stumbling blocks of shame and stigma. A series of close friends and mentors stand by her through challenges with abusive colleagues, conflicted relationships with men, estrangement from her mother, and confusion about what truly matters.
The Bipolar Therapist is the only memoir that shows a complete recovery from bipolar disorder and describes how the author’s times as a psychiatric inpatient influenced her work positively as a psychotherapist serving psychiatric and alcoholic inpatients. Berger’s story hinges upon resilience, perseverance, drive, and courage.
EDITORIAL REVIEWS
“The Bipolar Therapist takes some of the mystery out of bipolar disorder. By describing her times of madness and her resulting insights, Berger enhances understanding and helps decrease the shame people with
similar challenges often experience. This memoir takes on a serious topic, seasoning it with excitement, humor, and hope.”
— Edward M. Hallowell, MD, author of Because I Come from a Crazy Family
“As a psychiatrist working in a hospital that treats people with severe mental illnesses, I can say stigma is a major topic in psychiatry. Bipolar disorder has been gaining more acceptance recently. Yet there’s a long way to go before people who have it or another mental illness will get the respect and compassion that people with a physical disease receive. By telling her story in an accessible way in The Bipolar Therapist, Berger brilliantly advances this cause.”
— Saul Gorman, MD
“Fast-paced and stimulating, a must read! With unflinching honesty, Marcia Naomi Berger recounts in her latest book, The Bipolar Therapist, which reads like a novel, her downward spiral into the abyss and her courageous road to recovery.”
— Nancy Rosenfeld, co-author of New Hope for People with
Bipolar Disorder
“As a psychologist who’s treated many patients with bipolar disorder, I congratulate Berger for writing
this book. She shows that people with this illness can conquer its challenges and lead full, multifaceted lives. As more people bypass secrecy and share their mental illness-related journeys, we’ll see less shame and more self-acceptance and pride.”
— Pamela Butler, PhD, author of Talking to How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Can Change Your Life
“In her well-written book, The Bipolar Therapist, Berger shares her struggle with bipolar disorder during her twenties and thirties. Berger’s story assists in the movement to replace prejudice against those with mental illness with respect, compassion, and understanding. Bravo!”
— Linda Bloom, co-author of An End to Arguing
“Marcia Naomi Berger’s first-person account of her journey and transformation is courageous. As she writes, ‘Someone
with mental illness is much bigger and more complex than their diagnosis.’ ”
— Francis Lu, MD, Kim Professor in Cultural Psychiatry, Emeritus, UC Davis
“Berger’s voice is direct, authentic, and spare, yet full of life and intelligence. I am fascinated and uplifted.”
— Carol Olicker, MSW
“Berger’s compelling memoir lifts the veil hiding the truth about many therapists who we may think are more psychologically healthy than ourselves.
283 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 11, 2024
5 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 17, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
Memoirs written by people who have mental illnesses are always tough to read. The parts where the author talks about her manic episodes were hard to read because it's so scary to be out of control of your mind. Marcia writes with such bravery and honesty. I'm so glad she wrote this book. One more step in destigmatizing mental illness.
Memoirs written by people who have mental illnesses are always tough to read. The parts where the author talks about her manic episodes were hard to read because it's so scary to be out of control of your mind. Marcia writes with such bravery and honesty. I'm so glad she wrote this book. One more step in destigmatizing mental illness.
June 9, 2024
“Did marriage cure my bipolar disorder?”
I just spoiled the ending. But that’s because of what came before the beginning: the claim in the blurb – “The Bipolar Therapist is the only memoir that shows a complete recovery from bipolar disorder.” This is quite a claim. Because it’s not possible to recover from bipolar disorder.
When I got diagnosed with bipolar in 2012, on my 35th birthday, the first thing I tried to do was free the planet from my existence. I was put on a sedative before my long, long trip through the mental health system commenced. In the meantime, I have read everything I could get my hands on, written a short booklet for newly diagnosed patients, moderated a forum for people with bipolar disorder, and spoken to too many doctors to count.
Psychiatry is in still in its Stone Age. Diagnoses overlap. I wasn’t diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, because I got 4 out of 9 points, rather than 5, in the test. My psychiatrist didn’t laugh when I pretended to be sad about failing it. (Psychiatrists are really bad with jokes. They write them down, though, probably to look them up later and pass as their own.) It took eight years to find a ‘cocktail’ of meds that stabilised me. And another four to find that I have been most probably misdiagnosed, and the reason why the combos of meds (including lithium) have never actually made me better was that I didn’t need them.
This doesn’t mean I was cured from bipolar disorder.
•
At the end, Berger thanks her editor, Mary Neighbour of MediaNeighbours. I didn’t need to look the company up, did anyway, I was right. MediaNeighbours offers ‘author services’ – in this case, either the editor or the author did not do a good job. Authors often reject editors’ suggestions and I have no way to tell what happened here. But The Bipolar Therapist is all over the place. It doesn’t have the manic urgency of Marya Hornbacher’s memoirs, or the purposeful messiness of Jenny Lawson’s or Manic by Terri Cheney. It feels as if the author kept writing, getting distracted every now and then, until she felt there was enough.
There is no particular theme running through the book. I mean, sure, there is the bipolar disorder getting regular mentions, but having finished the book I don’t feel like I have learned much about bipolar or the author herself. Her mother insists repeatedly “you will write my memoirs” and occasional chapters are exactly that. Here’s why I feel the editor and the author did not collaborate well – there is no rhyme or reason as to what follows what, why, and when.
Some major events from the author’s life are weirdly glossed over in the book. She gets fired by an agency she works for. “The novelty of earning a living as an enterpreneur was still fresh […] small triumphs in gaining corporate accounts, developing marketing solutions for my clients, and networking” hits completely out of the blue two chapters further. Running a company with corporate clients is an amazing achievement for a person with undermedicated bipolar disorder. Because, while she thanks her doctor for allowing her to use dosage of lithium too low to reach therapeutic levels… her intake of lithium doesn’t reach therapeutic levels. This might be either the author’s brain chemistry responding in an incredibly unusual way, or placebo effect. (Berger mentions sudden worsening of her symptoms when she changed her diet to salt-free, and that she failed to notice, during a conference she had attended, a mention of how salt increases the potency of lithium. And yet, despite having missed the remark, she can quote it. As it happens, decreasing salt intake leads to higher levels of lithium in the bloodstream.)
•
The author’s first episode of what sounds like sudden dysphoric mania episode takes place in 1974. Fifty years ago. The last – in the 1980s. I am not a psychiatrist. Nevertheless, psychiatry’s holy book is currently DSM-V (2013). In 1974, DSM-II still listed homosexuality as a mental disorder (until, in the seventh printing, it was reclassified as “sexual orientation disturbance.”) The author’s actual work as a therapist ceases between 1979-1982 – another of those events that are not quite dated – so the title, The Bipolar Therapist, while not false advertising, only covers half of the book, or less, if the flashbacks to the author’s mother’s and grandmother’s memories/memoirs are discounted.
The way Berger is treated by her colleagues, ‘professionals,’ while she is still in practice, is, to put it mildly, absolutely horrible. After a hospital stay, she is suddenly an object to be touched inappropriately, guilty of others’ misconduct, gaslit, and finally ‘let go’ by the agency she was working for. Men in her life are, if anything, shockingly understanding – there was no bipolar disorder back then, but ‘manic-depressive illness,’ which sounds as attractive as… well. As ‘manic-depressive illness’ can sound. The fear of being outed – ‘exposed’ as Berger puts it – still exists today. Psychiatry has moved on, people pretend to have moved on, but really, Dr Kay Jamison-Redfield aside, how many therapists open about their bipolar disorder have been met with full understanding and respect?
This is the strongest part of the book – the flashback to not so long ago. The chapters that are – how do I put this? – excerpts from her mother’s and grandmother’s memoirs, or experiences, show women exhibiting traits that could be attributed to bipolar disorder today. A recent article in The Guardian suggests that borderline personality disorder, therapists’ least favourite diagnosis (even the best therapist I personally worked with told me “borderlines are the worst, you think you’re getting somewhere, and then it’s like a rubber snaps and you’re back where you began”) is overdiagnosed in women, most probably actually being complex PTSD. By recent, I mean spring 2024. (I am typing this in spring 2024.)
•
I always try to recommend a book to its intended audience. The trouble is, I don’t know who the audience is in case of The Bipolar Therapist. I am extremely upset, and I can’t emphasise this enough, by the assertion that Berger has made “a complete recovery from bipolar disorder.” The Jewish faith, which isn’t really visible in the first half of the book, enters it midway through, and the second half is increasingly devoted to Judaism, rabbis, practices, etc. The author does NOT suggest that faith cures bipolar, and does clarify that her experience doesn’t mean an average patient can simply slash their lithium intake by a factor of three. As I mentioned, I am not a psychiatrist. I have, however, been on high dosage of lithium for months, and it wasn’t until one of the psychologists I was working with told me I should keep hydrated (i.e. lower the level of actual salt in my bloodstream) even if I don’t feel thirsty that my digestive problems disappeared.
Have I mentioned I am not a psychiatrist? Once I find a special interest, and bipolar is one of mine, I become a researcher, problem-solver, and a perfectionist. I have spoken, online and in person, with at least a hundred people with bipolar diagnoses, medicated or not, in remission or not; I have read all the resources, including academic, I could get my hands on; I have spoken with any mental health professional I could grab into my paws. Because I was completely determined to prove them all wrong; I wanted to become that first person to make a complete recovery from bipolar disorder. In a plot twist, it turned out that I most probably don’t have bipolar disorder to recover from. I am on my way, hopefully, to complete recovery from a misdiagnosis.
I think (have I mentioned I am not…?) that The Bipolar Therapist actually documents Berger’s recovery from being deeply unhappy, stressed out, and traumatised for VERY clear reasons, to only mention the incredibly toxic work environment to becoming a married entrepreneur. Perhaps – weirder things happened – Marcia Naomi Berger actually is that first person ever to have made complete recovery from actual bipolar disorder with the only medication being an inadequately low dose of lithium taken for a relatively short period. The book comes with endorsements from people whose names are followed by words such as ‘professor emeritus’ or ‘PhD.’ My degree is in maths.
•
As I have said, reviewing and rating memoirs is extremely difficult. I am not criticising the author’s life’s interestingness, quality of her experiences, etc. I am deeply sorry for many things she has gone through, and I wish I could say “luckily, this would never happen today.” (It would and does.) But I am also sorry to say that while on the personal level this book must have been incredibly important for Berger, as a reader who got the book from NetGalley I found it confusing because of the time jumps, poorly edited, unclear about its own theme, and both the title and the claim about having made “full recovery from bipolar disorder” make me incredibly uncomfortable. Nevertheless, I expected a hack peddling online sessions, and got a moving story of a real person who has gone through extremely painful experiences before I was even born.
I admire Berger’s strength, resilience, and openness. I admire her for having written this book, and her happy ending made me happy, too. I can’t emphasise this enough: I am not rating the person or her life. I’m rating a book that has been released to worldwide audience, a title and a blurb making some very bold declarations, and the quality of the final result I have read.
I received a free copy of the book via NetGalley. This did not influence my review.
I just spoiled the ending. But that’s because of what came before the beginning: the claim in the blurb – “The Bipolar Therapist is the only memoir that shows a complete recovery from bipolar disorder.” This is quite a claim. Because it’s not possible to recover from bipolar disorder.
When I got diagnosed with bipolar in 2012, on my 35th birthday, the first thing I tried to do was free the planet from my existence. I was put on a sedative before my long, long trip through the mental health system commenced. In the meantime, I have read everything I could get my hands on, written a short booklet for newly diagnosed patients, moderated a forum for people with bipolar disorder, and spoken to too many doctors to count.
Psychiatry is in still in its Stone Age. Diagnoses overlap. I wasn’t diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, because I got 4 out of 9 points, rather than 5, in the test. My psychiatrist didn’t laugh when I pretended to be sad about failing it. (Psychiatrists are really bad with jokes. They write them down, though, probably to look them up later and pass as their own.) It took eight years to find a ‘cocktail’ of meds that stabilised me. And another four to find that I have been most probably misdiagnosed, and the reason why the combos of meds (including lithium) have never actually made me better was that I didn’t need them.
This doesn’t mean I was cured from bipolar disorder.
•
At the end, Berger thanks her editor, Mary Neighbour of MediaNeighbours. I didn’t need to look the company up, did anyway, I was right. MediaNeighbours offers ‘author services’ – in this case, either the editor or the author did not do a good job. Authors often reject editors’ suggestions and I have no way to tell what happened here. But The Bipolar Therapist is all over the place. It doesn’t have the manic urgency of Marya Hornbacher’s memoirs, or the purposeful messiness of Jenny Lawson’s or Manic by Terri Cheney. It feels as if the author kept writing, getting distracted every now and then, until she felt there was enough.
There is no particular theme running through the book. I mean, sure, there is the bipolar disorder getting regular mentions, but having finished the book I don’t feel like I have learned much about bipolar or the author herself. Her mother insists repeatedly “you will write my memoirs” and occasional chapters are exactly that. Here’s why I feel the editor and the author did not collaborate well – there is no rhyme or reason as to what follows what, why, and when.
Some major events from the author’s life are weirdly glossed over in the book. She gets fired by an agency she works for. “The novelty of earning a living as an enterpreneur was still fresh […] small triumphs in gaining corporate accounts, developing marketing solutions for my clients, and networking” hits completely out of the blue two chapters further. Running a company with corporate clients is an amazing achievement for a person with undermedicated bipolar disorder. Because, while she thanks her doctor for allowing her to use dosage of lithium too low to reach therapeutic levels… her intake of lithium doesn’t reach therapeutic levels. This might be either the author’s brain chemistry responding in an incredibly unusual way, or placebo effect. (Berger mentions sudden worsening of her symptoms when she changed her diet to salt-free, and that she failed to notice, during a conference she had attended, a mention of how salt increases the potency of lithium. And yet, despite having missed the remark, she can quote it. As it happens, decreasing salt intake leads to higher levels of lithium in the bloodstream.)
•
The author’s first episode of what sounds like sudden dysphoric mania episode takes place in 1974. Fifty years ago. The last – in the 1980s. I am not a psychiatrist. Nevertheless, psychiatry’s holy book is currently DSM-V (2013). In 1974, DSM-II still listed homosexuality as a mental disorder (until, in the seventh printing, it was reclassified as “sexual orientation disturbance.”) The author’s actual work as a therapist ceases between 1979-1982 – another of those events that are not quite dated – so the title, The Bipolar Therapist, while not false advertising, only covers half of the book, or less, if the flashbacks to the author’s mother’s and grandmother’s memories/memoirs are discounted.
The way Berger is treated by her colleagues, ‘professionals,’ while she is still in practice, is, to put it mildly, absolutely horrible. After a hospital stay, she is suddenly an object to be touched inappropriately, guilty of others’ misconduct, gaslit, and finally ‘let go’ by the agency she was working for. Men in her life are, if anything, shockingly understanding – there was no bipolar disorder back then, but ‘manic-depressive illness,’ which sounds as attractive as… well. As ‘manic-depressive illness’ can sound. The fear of being outed – ‘exposed’ as Berger puts it – still exists today. Psychiatry has moved on, people pretend to have moved on, but really, Dr Kay Jamison-Redfield aside, how many therapists open about their bipolar disorder have been met with full understanding and respect?
This is the strongest part of the book – the flashback to not so long ago. The chapters that are – how do I put this? – excerpts from her mother’s and grandmother’s memoirs, or experiences, show women exhibiting traits that could be attributed to bipolar disorder today. A recent article in The Guardian suggests that borderline personality disorder, therapists’ least favourite diagnosis (even the best therapist I personally worked with told me “borderlines are the worst, you think you’re getting somewhere, and then it’s like a rubber snaps and you’re back where you began”) is overdiagnosed in women, most probably actually being complex PTSD. By recent, I mean spring 2024. (I am typing this in spring 2024.)
•
I always try to recommend a book to its intended audience. The trouble is, I don’t know who the audience is in case of The Bipolar Therapist. I am extremely upset, and I can’t emphasise this enough, by the assertion that Berger has made “a complete recovery from bipolar disorder.” The Jewish faith, which isn’t really visible in the first half of the book, enters it midway through, and the second half is increasingly devoted to Judaism, rabbis, practices, etc. The author does NOT suggest that faith cures bipolar, and does clarify that her experience doesn’t mean an average patient can simply slash their lithium intake by a factor of three. As I mentioned, I am not a psychiatrist. I have, however, been on high dosage of lithium for months, and it wasn’t until one of the psychologists I was working with told me I should keep hydrated (i.e. lower the level of actual salt in my bloodstream) even if I don’t feel thirsty that my digestive problems disappeared.
Have I mentioned I am not a psychiatrist? Once I find a special interest, and bipolar is one of mine, I become a researcher, problem-solver, and a perfectionist. I have spoken, online and in person, with at least a hundred people with bipolar diagnoses, medicated or not, in remission or not; I have read all the resources, including academic, I could get my hands on; I have spoken with any mental health professional I could grab into my paws. Because I was completely determined to prove them all wrong; I wanted to become that first person to make a complete recovery from bipolar disorder. In a plot twist, it turned out that I most probably don’t have bipolar disorder to recover from. I am on my way, hopefully, to complete recovery from a misdiagnosis.
I think (have I mentioned I am not…?) that The Bipolar Therapist actually documents Berger’s recovery from being deeply unhappy, stressed out, and traumatised for VERY clear reasons, to only mention the incredibly toxic work environment to becoming a married entrepreneur. Perhaps – weirder things happened – Marcia Naomi Berger actually is that first person ever to have made complete recovery from actual bipolar disorder with the only medication being an inadequately low dose of lithium taken for a relatively short period. The book comes with endorsements from people whose names are followed by words such as ‘professor emeritus’ or ‘PhD.’ My degree is in maths.
•
As I have said, reviewing and rating memoirs is extremely difficult. I am not criticising the author’s life’s interestingness, quality of her experiences, etc. I am deeply sorry for many things she has gone through, and I wish I could say “luckily, this would never happen today.” (It would and does.) But I am also sorry to say that while on the personal level this book must have been incredibly important for Berger, as a reader who got the book from NetGalley I found it confusing because of the time jumps, poorly edited, unclear about its own theme, and both the title and the claim about having made “full recovery from bipolar disorder” make me incredibly uncomfortable. Nevertheless, I expected a hack peddling online sessions, and got a moving story of a real person who has gone through extremely painful experiences before I was even born.
I admire Berger’s strength, resilience, and openness. I admire her for having written this book, and her happy ending made me happy, too. I can’t emphasise this enough: I am not rating the person or her life. I’m rating a book that has been released to worldwide audience, a title and a blurb making some very bold declarations, and the quality of the final result I have read.
I received a free copy of the book via NetGalley. This did not influence my review.
May 26, 2024
The Bipolar Therapist is easily one of my new favorite books that I know I’ll read again in the near future. As an older, single female who has also been diagnosed with a depression and severe anxiety (not an “aww”/”sorry” moment), I can semi-relate to Marcia’s story of feeling ashamed by her diagnosis and feeling like that’s the reason why she’s unmarried and having conflicts with work, all while feeling society’s pressure to be married already. Marcia’s story is really admirable because there is a 30+ year gap between us – so if I feel like having a mental disease in the 80s – 2010s needed to be a secret and am still single at my age, I can only imagine the intensity that this author/therapist felt in her day. But she persevered!
I went into this book assuming it was mostly about navigating life with a mental disease, particularly as it relates to work and to herself, but this book is so much more than just that. Marcia writes about her embarrassment, but is very honest and open about her experience – right or wrong, it’s the best decision she could make at the time. The book starts out a bit flustered and “all over the place,” which typically is annoying, but it’s intended to get you in her mindset of having a billion thoughts and not feeling completely connected. But as the book progresses, there’s a shift in clarity and comfortableness that Marcia suddenly feels. Her writing takes you on her journey throughout the book. Each relationship (friendship, mentor, and romantic) introduced in this book helps shape her to who she is today. And at the end of the book, there are sweet moments and, most importantly, peace.
Highly recommend reading this book. It quickly grabbed my attention and continued to do so throughout the book. I applaud Marcia Naomi Berger for living her life and truth and for writing her story for people like myself.
I went into this book assuming it was mostly about navigating life with a mental disease, particularly as it relates to work and to herself, but this book is so much more than just that. Marcia writes about her embarrassment, but is very honest and open about her experience – right or wrong, it’s the best decision she could make at the time. The book starts out a bit flustered and “all over the place,” which typically is annoying, but it’s intended to get you in her mindset of having a billion thoughts and not feeling completely connected. But as the book progresses, there’s a shift in clarity and comfortableness that Marcia suddenly feels. Her writing takes you on her journey throughout the book. Each relationship (friendship, mentor, and romantic) introduced in this book helps shape her to who she is today. And at the end of the book, there are sweet moments and, most importantly, peace.
Highly recommend reading this book. It quickly grabbed my attention and continued to do so throughout the book. I applaud Marcia Naomi Berger for living her life and truth and for writing her story for people like myself.
April 20, 2024
I found the stream of consciousness writing style in 'The Bipolar Therapist' to be quite engaging. The narrative's immersive first-person view during Marcia's manic episode brought about a steep change of pace that took me on an emotional rollercoaster, heart pounding and mind racing.
One aspect I particularly appreciated was the opportunity to delve into Marcia's mind and emotions. However, I couldn't help but wonder if readers unfamiliar with neuroatypical experiences might struggle to fully grasp the narrative's depth. While the book succeeded in allowing me inside her head, I felt that more descriptive passages could have provided additional context and understanding, especially for those seeking education rather than just immersion.
One aspect I particularly appreciated was the opportunity to delve into Marcia's mind and emotions. However, I couldn't help but wonder if readers unfamiliar with neuroatypical experiences might struggle to fully grasp the narrative's depth. While the book succeeded in allowing me inside her head, I felt that more descriptive passages could have provided additional context and understanding, especially for those seeking education rather than just immersion.
April 24, 2024
Fantastic memoir that honestly speaks to the pitfalls and triumphs of one afflicted by mental illness. Raw, honest, painful and ultimately, hopeful as the human spirit triumphs over disease.
April 18, 2024
Review by Marty
Reviewer 1373784
Last updated on Mar 26 2024
This was a powerful read. It was very descriptive and truly gave the reader an authentic firsthand account of what it is like for one to experience a manic episode. I felt like I was right there with Marcia as she shared her family history, her childhood, and her search for self understanding.
It was beautiful to see her accept that she would may never have all of the answers as to why things happened to her as they did but the fact that she was able to put down the shame and find true happiness was priceless and I believe worth the journey
Reviewer 1373784
Last updated on Mar 26 2024
This was a powerful read. It was very descriptive and truly gave the reader an authentic firsthand account of what it is like for one to experience a manic episode. I felt like I was right there with Marcia as she shared her family history, her childhood, and her search for self understanding.
It was beautiful to see her accept that she would may never have all of the answers as to why things happened to her as they did but the fact that she was able to put down the shame and find true happiness was priceless and I believe worth the journey
May 21, 2024
The Bipolar Therapist: A Journey From Maddness To Love And Meaning is an important, eye-opening, raw, honest, powerful, and interesting read! This memior is true story written with extreme bravery, transparency, and self-reflection. As a future social worker, this title jumped out as a must read. I loved that this book highlights the struggle between professional and personal especially since the author works in the mental health field. It is hard for everyone to accept help and even mental health professionals can have mental health struggles. This is such an important and powerful point. I love the way this book challenges narrow thought-processes and assumptions. Mental illness is real, recovery is not linear, medicine is not a simple "perfect" fix to mental health struggles, and mental health professionals can personally struggle yet still be able to help others if they have the proper supports.
A few things I loved: this book is honestly written, opens the door for needed conversations, gives the read a raw description of bipolar disorder/mania and explores many topics including complicated family relationships, workplace abuse, conflicted relationships with men, mental illness, facing stigmas, and much more.
A few things I loved: this book is honestly written, opens the door for needed conversations, gives the read a raw description of bipolar disorder/mania and explores many topics including complicated family relationships, workplace abuse, conflicted relationships with men, mental illness, facing stigmas, and much more.
May 23, 2024
Marcia Naomi Berger takes you on a rollercoaster ride, which is her life and mindset. There are very high highs and very low lows. In the beginning of the book, you read and experience the mindset that she is currently going through and while it might seem a bit chaotic, you appreciate that the author writes honestly and in a way that will make the reader understand that this is what's going on with her mentally. As a reader, you can't help but hope Marcia's life gets better.
All Marcia wants is to love someone and get married. This seems like a "simple" task, but dating is hard to begin with and being mentally unstable doesn't help the end goal.
Throughout the book, you read about Marcia's ups and downs and no matter what you just hope for the best. You really want Marcia to fall in love and find a great partner who will support her.
I enjoyed reading this book and I really appreciate how honest Marcia is with writing about her mental state and her wants in life. I also appreciate how Marcia's experience was in and out of hospitals, how her coworkers and friends treated her, her thoughts on people and situations, and how she was able to handle life's challenges.
All Marcia wants is to love someone and get married. This seems like a "simple" task, but dating is hard to begin with and being mentally unstable doesn't help the end goal.
Throughout the book, you read about Marcia's ups and downs and no matter what you just hope for the best. You really want Marcia to fall in love and find a great partner who will support her.
I enjoyed reading this book and I really appreciate how honest Marcia is with writing about her mental state and her wants in life. I also appreciate how Marcia's experience was in and out of hospitals, how her coworkers and friends treated her, her thoughts on people and situations, and how she was able to handle life's challenges.
May 14, 2024
Well-written; Promotes Understanding
Kudos to Marcia Naomi Berger for sharing her struggle with bipolar disorder in her 20s and 30s. Her story is entertaining, inspiring, warm-hearted, and spiced with humor. She helps us understand on a cellular level just what it feels like to have manic episodes and their consequences
Kudos to Marcia Naomi Berger for sharing her struggle with bipolar disorder in her 20s and 30s. Her story is entertaining, inspiring, warm-hearted, and spiced with humor. She helps us understand on a cellular level just what it feels like to have manic episodes and their consequences
May 26, 2024
The saying “walk a mile in their shoes” shares a whole new meaning in this memoir. Both immersive and engaging, Bipolar Therapist takes a deep look into bipolar disorder and its residual effects. If you have a heart, it’s an emotional roller coaster for the reader. I can’t imagine living it. Bless the author’s heart for sharing her story to bring awareness to Mental Health Month.
June 1, 2024
The Bipolar Therapist is a great portrait of a first person account of mania and psychosis and is reminiscent of The Center Cannot Hold I loved how Marcia Berger wrote and expressed how her thoughts sounded and felt while experiencing symptoms of psychosis. This book really helps to break down the stigma about severe and persistent mental illness.
November 24, 2024
Honest intimate look at mental illness
The author writes a very intimate and honest look at her bipolar struggles, and how she overcame the stigma and shame for a thriving career helping others battle their own mental illnesses. It is a great insight into not only a patient’s interior perceptions and challenges, but also the impact on family and friends.
The author writes a very intimate and honest look at her bipolar struggles, and how she overcame the stigma and shame for a thriving career helping others battle their own mental illnesses. It is a great insight into not only a patient’s interior perceptions and challenges, but also the impact on family and friends.
May 23, 2024
Well-Written, Poignant, and Heartwarming! Berger's memoir about her past experience with bipolar disorder is detailed, gripping, and suspenseful. I was drawn in, especially by her portrayal of her complex relationship with her mother, including moments of exasperation and heartwarming tenderness.
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June 5, 2024I have to read this book again. It really messed with. it is frighteningly realistic and I saw things in this main character that are too close to home. There are no words to describe how it made me feel, only by reading will you understand the magnitude of this book.
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