Caitlin

Caitlin asked Kay Redfield Jamison:

I first read An Unquiet Mind when I was 16, and since then I have recommended it to countless people. To me, it is timeless, it is a classic. Did you have any idea how much your very personal story would resonate with so many people when you first wrote it?

Kay Redfield Jamison Cait, Thank you for your question. This is my first time writing on Goodreads so it is a bit of an adventure. I didn’t have any idea what the reaction to An Unquiet Mind would be; I was quite anxious about personal and professional repercussions and was doubly delighted, then, that people wrote that it had hit a chord with them. Bipolar disorder is common but not talked about as much as it should be. It is awful to feel that one is alone with it.

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Melanie Russell

Melanie Russell asked Kay Redfield Jamison:

Dr. Redfield Jamison, Your new work on Robert Lowell sounds compelling--I can't wait to pick it up. I am hoping you address the manic creative thrust artists experience from a biological or genetic perspective in your book. My question is: Can you describe this creative surge bipolar patients experience, and, in your opinion, what is its biological cause? Thank you so much for all your work on the study of bipolar.

Bookwormthings

Bookwormthings asked Kay Redfield Jamison:

Although Art may imitate life, life may not imitate art. How difficult did you find it separating the poetry from the man and his illness? I always feel there is a danger in some biographies that the 'art' in this case the poetry, is overinterpreted with the benefit of hindsight. (As a UK person I regret to say that I am currently ignorant of his poetry although would welcome recommendations.)

Carrie Ballom

Carrie Ballom asked Kay Redfield Jamison:

Thank you for sharing your story and Mr Lowell's, both about intelligent, creative people, to challenge the stigma of mental illness. As a nurse and mental health professional with a Autism Spectrum Disorder, I regularly encounter ignorance about what that means, even from other professionals. How can those of us with neurological and mental health conditions shrug off this burden of stigma from society?

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Kay Redfield Jamison

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