ABSTRACT
Kay Redfield Jamison is Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and co-author of the standard medical text on manic-depressive illness. Manic-depressive illness or bi-polar disease is the crushing state where people experience periods of euphoric “highs” followed by maddening periods of depleting “lows.” Not only is Jamison one of the world's foremost authorities on the subject, she has suffered with the illness throughout her life. Her memoir, An Unquiet Mind (1995), is a riveting revelation of her personal quest for health and inner-peace. During her manic states, Jamison's energy, creativity, and intellect were so intensified that she performed at amazing levels. However, during her depressive states, she sank to such depths of madness that she attempted suicide.
