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Gently Dented: Inside the Mind of a Bipolar Schizophrenic
Serious in part, yet at times humorous, Gently Dented chronicles what it is like living with a severe mental disorder. Each chapter explores the various trials of living with an abnormal mind. With absolute truth and conviction, Meaghan Hilary attempts to meet, head on, the challenges of describing the personal and social experiences of being a bipolar schizophrenic. Though our collective perceptions of mental health problems are steadily becoming more progressive, there is still a significant stigma associated with those who are mentally ill. Stories such as Meaghan Hilary's can enlighten minds and bring greater acceptance and empathy to the world. Gently Dented is Meaghan Hilary's written account of living with hallucinations, paranoia, grand delusions, mixed episodes, mania, and depression. It is a peek into the mind of a bipolar schizophrenic.
124 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 20, 2019
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16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 6, 2023
“Given the chance, I’m not sure if I would wish away my illness. It sucks but also has made me who I am and I like me.”
Gently Dented: In the Mind of a Bipolar Schizophrenic by Meaghan Hilary is a moving and telling look inside the unfolding of mental illness over the course of Meaghan’s challenging life. Meaghan writes that, “Every day I’m at war with my brain,” and she undoubtedly is a survivor in more ways than one. She begins her memoir by detailing the presentations of her disorders starting from an early age and how they unfolded through the perils of high school, a fractured home life and long into adulthood. The book then continues on to be a harrowing read, both hopeful and honest, and I read this memoir in a single sitting, something I have not done in years. I highly recommend this memoir.
Some of my highlights from the book are:
“It’s interesting living with two disorders that are opposites on the emotional scale. Bipolar is a very emotional disorder. The rapid change between manic and depressive is a wonder to behold but it is mainly about feelings. I felt depressed, manic, or both. I felt like my soul was being ripped in two. I felt with all my heart all the feeling on the spectrum of feelings. But with schizophrenia, I felt nothing. Nothing at all.”
“I realized early on that any mental illness was generally met with a lack of understanding and a propensity to willfully think said person with the illness is making it up. I have heard often enough that my illness is all in my mind. Of course it’s in my mind.”
“There are two parts to every human being. We have souls, the part of us that makes us who we are and we have a brain that makes us feel alive. When your soul and brain are both functioning normally it may be hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. Living with a mental illness, the separation is noticeable. My soul is what makes me me. It’s who I am. And my diseased brain is where my schizoaffective comes from. It’s not who I am but what I live with. My soul will go to the universe when I die and my brain will be cremated. With death, I will finally be free. If you love someone who lived with a mental illness and has committed suicide, then know they decided to separate their soul from their brain. That’s why a lot of people who end their life seem happy at the end. They know soon they’ll be free from their brain on a permanent basis.”
Gently Dented: In the Mind of a Bipolar Schizophrenic by Meaghan Hilary is a moving and telling look inside the unfolding of mental illness over the course of Meaghan’s challenging life. Meaghan writes that, “Every day I’m at war with my brain,” and she undoubtedly is a survivor in more ways than one. She begins her memoir by detailing the presentations of her disorders starting from an early age and how they unfolded through the perils of high school, a fractured home life and long into adulthood. The book then continues on to be a harrowing read, both hopeful and honest, and I read this memoir in a single sitting, something I have not done in years. I highly recommend this memoir.
Some of my highlights from the book are:
“It’s interesting living with two disorders that are opposites on the emotional scale. Bipolar is a very emotional disorder. The rapid change between manic and depressive is a wonder to behold but it is mainly about feelings. I felt depressed, manic, or both. I felt like my soul was being ripped in two. I felt with all my heart all the feeling on the spectrum of feelings. But with schizophrenia, I felt nothing. Nothing at all.”
“I realized early on that any mental illness was generally met with a lack of understanding and a propensity to willfully think said person with the illness is making it up. I have heard often enough that my illness is all in my mind. Of course it’s in my mind.”
“There are two parts to every human being. We have souls, the part of us that makes us who we are and we have a brain that makes us feel alive. When your soul and brain are both functioning normally it may be hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. Living with a mental illness, the separation is noticeable. My soul is what makes me me. It’s who I am. And my diseased brain is where my schizoaffective comes from. It’s not who I am but what I live with. My soul will go to the universe when I die and my brain will be cremated. With death, I will finally be free. If you love someone who lived with a mental illness and has committed suicide, then know they decided to separate their soul from their brain. That’s why a lot of people who end their life seem happy at the end. They know soon they’ll be free from their brain on a permanent basis.”
December 7, 2021
Subjective yet General
I came across this book while searching for a book to explain her dad's mental illness to my 13 yr. old granddaughter.(still searching) That it deals with both bipolar AND schizophrenia was perfect- exactly like daddy. Well, this isn't the book. I am grateful that Meaghan Hilary shares her story, but it is so personal, so subjective, that it's not s good fit. However, just reading the manifestations of her illness helped me understand not only the similarities but also the differences in the disorder. So maybe it will help you as well. .
I came across this book while searching for a book to explain her dad's mental illness to my 13 yr. old granddaughter.(still searching) That it deals with both bipolar AND schizophrenia was perfect- exactly like daddy. Well, this isn't the book. I am grateful that Meaghan Hilary shares her story, but it is so personal, so subjective, that it's not s good fit. However, just reading the manifestations of her illness helped me understand not only the similarities but also the differences in the disorder. So maybe it will help you as well. .
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June 29, 2023Raw and real account of mental illnesses and the complexity of them
This book had me turning pages throughout the night. Meaghan is a witty and thoughtful writer who suffers from a bipolar disorder. She writes about what it’s like to have this illness while going through life’s struggles.
Thank you for for this insightful read.
This book had me turning pages throughout the night. Meaghan is a witty and thoughtful writer who suffers from a bipolar disorder. She writes about what it’s like to have this illness while going through life’s struggles.
Thank you for for this insightful read.
November 6, 2020
A fascinating book written from the authors first hand experience. Funny and compassionate, a must read!
Leslie Schroeder
Leslie Schroeder
January 28, 2020
Gently Dented will open your heart and broaden your understanding of mental illness. And, maybe unexpectedly, entertain you too. Meaghan Hillary has a dry wit and a slantwise point of view.
The only reason I gave Gently Dented 4 stars rather than 5 is because here and there the writing is not quite polished. Some may not like that. Yet that slight roughness, that friction, is actually part of the book's charm and its value, and what makes it hugely real and readable. She is an entertaining writer. I could see this as a one-woman show (with some special effects to bring the inner world out).
What incredible challenges this woman lives with - challenges that are generally invisible. But this book lets you in, takes you behind the scenes. If you were her classmate in high school, you would never know that Meaghan needs you to hold her bag because it will scream out loud if it touches the floor. You wouldn't know the voices, the terrors, the threats that were and sometimes still are so real to her. Or the (sometimes embarrassing) highs, either. She shares it all now, turning herself inside out. Sometimes laughing at herself. Sometimes allowing some bitterness to show.
You'll learn what it was like to be a small child and not understand that you are different. How it was to be a teenager and a talented film maker in high school. How adult Meaghan has worked and worked again to find medications that will hold the disease in check, enable her to keep a perspective on the inner experiences and sometimes eliminate them, enabling her to be a good mom and wife.
You'll live another life through reading Gently Dented. And yet--when you get right down to it--it might not be so different from your own.
The only reason I gave Gently Dented 4 stars rather than 5 is because here and there the writing is not quite polished. Some may not like that. Yet that slight roughness, that friction, is actually part of the book's charm and its value, and what makes it hugely real and readable. She is an entertaining writer. I could see this as a one-woman show (with some special effects to bring the inner world out).
What incredible challenges this woman lives with - challenges that are generally invisible. But this book lets you in, takes you behind the scenes. If you were her classmate in high school, you would never know that Meaghan needs you to hold her bag because it will scream out loud if it touches the floor. You wouldn't know the voices, the terrors, the threats that were and sometimes still are so real to her. Or the (sometimes embarrassing) highs, either. She shares it all now, turning herself inside out. Sometimes laughing at herself. Sometimes allowing some bitterness to show.
You'll learn what it was like to be a small child and not understand that you are different. How it was to be a teenager and a talented film maker in high school. How adult Meaghan has worked and worked again to find medications that will hold the disease in check, enable her to keep a perspective on the inner experiences and sometimes eliminate them, enabling her to be a good mom and wife.
You'll live another life through reading Gently Dented. And yet--when you get right down to it--it might not be so different from your own.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews