Jamison, the author, is a Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University and a lifelong sufferer of manic-depressive illness. Jamison grew up in a military family, and while she appreciated some of the more ornamental and traditional elements of that kind of life, she also rejected some of the norms and what she perceived as more arbitrary rules. This dichotomy follows her throughout the book, as Jamison simultaneously rejects illogical institutions and norms (such as patriarchal elements of medicine and academia) while often finding comfort in stability and romantic tradition. She is a woman of many intellectual passions, an avid reader and lover of poetry, and a prolific researcher.

Jamison has always been given to moods, but it was as a teenager that her mood swings became more intense, a time period which coincided with a general loss of stability and comfort in her life. Her mood swings grew more difficult to manage through her time at UCLA, both as an undergraduate and doctoral student, but she did not experience psychosis until she began her career on the faculty at UCLA. During this time, she grew erratic and impulsive; although a colleague finally convinced her to see a psychiatrist and start taking lithium, the effect of the

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