If knowing one's enemy is key to surviving a prolonged encounter, then Surviving Manic Depression should prove essential reading to those who suffer from this brain disease's horrific highs and lows. Having immersed themselves in the topic, E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., and Michael B. Knable, D.O., offer a comprehensive resource for those afflicted with--or responsible for treating--manic depression. Unfortunately, a surprisingly small amount of data exists regarding its prevalence, and existing studies show conflicting results.

Torrey and Knable's emphasis on dissecting all that is known about the disease clearly indicates that "survival" entails neither escape nor eradication; rather, it requires a lifelong pledge to undertake an effective course of treatment. The first step: learning every suspected cause, symptom, risk factor, and treatment strategy. Sprinkled among statistic-laden paragraphs, touches of empathy arrive via articulate quotations from sufferers including Patty Duke and Kay Jamison. But the crux of Torrey and Knable's work is its compilation of all the informative bits and pieces readers need to build an effective action plan. Most helpful are the chapters that address special problems (including alcohol and drug abuse, violent behavior, medication noncompliance, and the seduction of mania); and their no-holds-barred reviews of books, selected Web sites, and videotapes. --Liane Thomas


From Publishers Weekly
A lucid, thorough guide to every aspect of living with bipolar disorder, Surviving Manic Depression: A Manual on Bipolar Disorder for Patients, Families and Providers covers symptoms, treatment and advocacy. E. Fuller Torrey (Surviving Schizophrenia), psychiatry professor and Treatment Advocacy Center president, and psychiatry instructor Michael B. Knable explain what mania and depression feel like from the inside, the causes and risk factors, the range of possible medications and treatments, and 10 special problems for manic depressives like alcohol abuse and medical noncompliance. There's also a section on bipolar disorder in children and a list of frequently asked questions. This is a valuable resource for anyone touched by the illness. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Torrey, one of the world's leading authorities on schizophrenia and an advocate for the care of the severely mentally ill, here does for manic depression what he has done for schizophrenia in successive editions of this book's companion volume, Surviving Schizophrenia (Quill, 2001) that is, he provides a comprehensive treatise on the condition's etiology, symptoms, and treatment. Moreover, Torrey and Knable (psychiatry, George Washington Univ. Hosp.) manage to convey the complexities of the subject without overwhelming or confusing the lay reader. The authors are clearly mainstream in their view of manic depression as an organic brain disease requiring medication to control symptoms. They thoroughly cover various medications, their side effects, and suggestions for maintaining compliance and controlling side effects. Of particular interest are the extensive appendixes listing and describing books, web sites, videos, and other resources on bipolar disorder. Unlike most such lists, this one describes and rates the material listed. By far the best general book available on the subject, this is highly recommended for all public and academic libraries. Mary Ann Hughes, Neill P.L., Pullman, WACopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Torrey and Knable, long active in the research and treatment of manic depression, present an informative, clearly written, cogently presented advisor. Very saliently, they examine the reasons for the lack of treatment for many sufferers and discuss changes in the definition of the disease over the years, showing how those have at times hampered understanding. In their coverage of risk factors and causes, they caution that much information currently presented as fact isn't based on solid studies, and the information they furnish on treatments details many different types of drugs (and their side effects) as well as nonmedicational approaches. The patient-oriented physician, they say, will combine those types of therapeutics to best suit each patient. Emphasizing that alcohol, drugs, and homelessness exacerbate manic depression, they note advocacy organizations and point out their good and bad features, plead for advocates from among patients, and suggest that a modern Dorothea Dix could be greatly helpful. Of course, they deem increased research funding vital. An important book that may be useful for years. William Beatty
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


From Book News, Inc.
The term bipolar disorder was an unfortunate choice, say the researchers with the Stanley Foundation, but it did distinguish between people who suffer simple depression from those who also undergo manic episodes; they substitute the term manic depression. In non-technical language, they describe its incidence; what it looks like from the inside and the outside; risk factors; onset, course, and outcome; causes; medications; nonmedical aspects of treatment; and other topics.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR


Book Description
From E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., the author of the best-selling Surviving Schizophrenia (more than 250,000 sold), and Michael B. Knable, D.O., the first truly comprehensive, up-to-the-minute guide to manic-depressive illness. Surviving Manic Depression is the most authoritative book on this disorder, which affects more than two million people in the U.S. alone. Based on the latest research, it provides detailed coverage of every aspect of manic depression--from understanding its causes and treatments to choosing doctors and managing relapses--with guidance drawn from the latest scientific information. Drs. Torrey and Knable provide thorough, up-to-date coverage of all aspects of the disease, including a detailed description of symptoms (with many direct descriptions from patients themselves), risk factors, onset and cause, medications (including drugs still in the testing stage), psychotherapy, and rehabilitation, as well as information about how the disease affects children and adolescents. Here too are discussions of special problems related to manic depression, including alcohol and drug abuse, violent behavior, medication noncompliance, suicide, sex, AIDS, and confidentiality. Surviving Manic Depression also includes special features such as a listing of selected websites, books, videotapes, and other resources.


Book Info
Consumer text provides detailed coverage of every aspect of the disease, from symptoms and risk factors to insurance issues and the latest medications. Also discusses special problems related to the disease, including drug and alcohol abuse, medication non-compliance, suicide, sex, and AIDS.


About the Author
E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., is president of the Treatment Advocacy Center and Executive Director of the Stanley Foundation Research Programs. He is also Professor of Psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. His books include Schizophrenia and Manic-Depressive Disorder, Out of the Shadows, Nowhere to Go, and Surviving Schizophrenia. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland. Michael B. Knable, D.O., is Medical Director of the Stanley Foundation Research Programs and Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry in the residency program at George Washington University Hospital, Washington, D.C. He lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Mania, Madness, Melancholy -- all terms used to describe the symptoms of manic-depressive illness, a disorder that has been chronically misunderstood and feared throughout history. In the United States today, more than two million people suffer from manic depression, and now for the first time comes a truly comprehensive, up-to-the-minute guide to all aspects of the disease, written for patients, families, and the professionals who treat them. Basing their conclusions on an exhaustive analysis of the latest scientific research, the author of the best-selling Surviving Schizophrenia joins psychologist Michael Knable to provide detailed coverage of every aspect of the disease, from symptoms and risk factors to insurance issues and the latest (still being tested) medications. Drs. Torrey and Knable also discuss special problems related to the disease, including drug and alcohol abuse, medication non-compliance, suicide, sex, and AIDS.

By providing the cold hard facts about manic depression, Torrey and Knable demystify the illness for its victims and their loved ones. Boldly confronting the lore associated with this disease and its different incarnations, Torrey and Knable separate fact from fiction, dispelling myths about the link between manic depression and prenatal exposure to influenza, for example, but providing evidence to support such ideas as the higher incidence of depression in urban areas. They give factual, non-sensationalized accounts of the disease, from patients' own words, and a detailed list of conditions often mistaken for manic-depressive illness. With special features such as a listing of selected websites, books, videotapes, and other resources, Surviving Manic Depression is the essential handbook for anyone living with manic-depressive illness.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

A lucid, thorough guide to every aspect of living with bipolar disorder, Surviving Manic Depression: A Manual on Bipolar Disorder for Patients, Families and Providers covers symptoms, treatment and advocacy. E. Fuller Torrey (Surviving Schizophrenia), psychiatry professor and Treatment Advocacy Center president, and psychiatry instructor Michael B. Knable explain what mania and depression feel like from the inside, the causes and risk factors, the range of possible medications and treatments, and 10 special problems for manic depressives like alcohol abuse and medical noncompliance. There's also a section on bipolar disorder in children and a list of frequently asked questions. This is a valuable resource for anyone touched by the illness. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Torrey, one of the world's leading authorities on schizophrenia and an advocate for the care of the severely mentally ill, here does for manic depression what he has done for schizophrenia in successive editions of this book's companion volume, Surviving Schizophrenia (Quill, 2001) that is, he provides a comprehensive treatise on the condition's etiology, symptoms, and treatment. Moreover, Torrey and Knable (psychiatry, George Washington Univ. Hosp.) manage to convey the complexities of the subject without overwhelming or confusing the lay reader. The authors are clearly mainstream in their view of manic depression as an organic brain disease requiring medication to control symptoms. They thoroughly cover various medications, their side effects, and suggestions for maintaining compliance and controlling side effects. Of particular interest are the extensive appendixes listing and describing books, web sites, videos, and other resources on bipolar disorder. Unlike most such lists, this one describes and rates the material listed. By far the best general book available on the subject, this is highly recommended for all public and academic libraries. Mary Ann Hughes, Neill P.L., Pullman, WA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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