LISA GENOVA : MORE OR LESS MADDY : A VERY SATISFYING READ

Four stars

This is an absorbing story of Maddy, a young woman in her first year of university, with all its accompanying stresses. Sometimes she’s erratic and moody, and feels weighed down by the pressure her mother puts on her to study hard, be more like her successful older siblings, to be ‘normal’. The thing is, she’s never quite fit in with her perfect traditional upper middle-class Connecticut family. While her family readily conforms to the societal norms of saying the right things, eating the right food, wearing the right clothes, being seen at tennis or golf, or at a charitable event, Maddy just doesn’t see the point. As she looks around the dining room of a club she’s at with her family, she wonders if everyone there is happy ‘dressing in matching costumes, chitchatting about nothing … perpetuating this mind-numbingly meaningless nightmare …’. She can’t believe people spend their entire lives like this.

Like many young people, Maddy doesn’t know what she truly wants. Everything is made more difficult following the break-up of a long-term relationship. She’s in low spirits, indeed depressed; she feels out of control. When she’s prescribed anti-depressants, however, things change, and everything is wonderful, life is full of promise, and Maddy decides that she’ll both finish her studies while pursuing a career in stand-up comedy. The traditional life is not for her!

Unfortunately, the highs she feels from being on anti-depressants don’t last, because she has a prolonged manic episode, with epic delusional fantasies, and before long, lands in hospital. Her psychiatrist diagnoses her with bipolar disorder, which is a profound shock for Maddy and her family.

The story follows Maddy over a two-year period, as she learns to adapt to the new reality of taking her medication, adhering to a healthy diet, and coming to grips with who she is as a person, and what she really wants to do with her life. She’s also learning how to be a better sister, a better friend, at the same time as doing her part-time job, keeping up with her studies, and trying to cope with her mother’s smothering solicitude. Her mother actively discourages what she sees as Maddy’s unrealistic and ridiculous dreams of becoming a comedian. Worse, she relentlessly monitors her every move via a Find My app. Maddy feels trapped, as ‘every day her mother shoulds all over her’.

What stands out about this book are both the overt and subtle depictions of the life of someone with bipolar disorder – the good, the bad, the savagely raw. There’s no holding back here. You can really feel how joyous and motivated she is when she’s on a high; and how alone, angry, vulnerable, and frightened she is when she’s down. Her emotions are so powerfully conveyed, you’re empathising with her all the way. We also meet the people trying to help Maddy, and just how her mental health impacts upon them. The characterisations of these people, by the way, are fully fleshed-out: we all know people like these in our own lives. Each of them – mother, siblings, friends, her therapist, and others –plays a part in Maddy’s story.

The author, Lisa Genova, is a neuroscientist, who has said she writes about people who are often ignored or misunderstood because of what’s happening in their brains. I certainly came away with a broader understanding of what it means to be bipolar, and how difficult it can be for those who have it, to come to terms with their new reality. People living with bipolar disorder also suffer additional pressures of stigma, shame, and a desperate anxiety about telling anyone they have it for fear of social rejection. It made me think how intolerant some people can be towards those with mental health issues.

The author writes not just with her professional knowledge, but with compassion and empathy. This is well-structured, well-plotted novel, stressing the value of connection. It’s a most satisfying read.

Published by Allen & Unwin, 360 pages
ISBN 978 1 76147246 6
RRP $32.99

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