Before she was diagnosed, Marya Hornbacher lived in chaos. Afterward, she had a name for it: Type I rapid-cycle bipolar disorder.
In Madness, the bestselling author of Wasted returns with a searing, unflinching memoir of mental illness. With startling clarity and dark wit, she recounts her lifelong battle with moods that swung violently between euphoria and despair—and the desperate, destructive attempts to quiet them.
From addiction and self-harm to the pursuit of stability in marriage and recovery, Hornbacher doesn’t just describe bipolar disorder—she inhabits it on the page.
This memoir is both a survival story and a call to understanding, challenging the stigma around bipolarity and confronting the questions surrounding childhood diagnosis. Fierce, raw, and revelatory, Madness will shake you—and stay with you.
