Rock Steady: Brilliant Advice From My Bipolar Life

While I'd read the author's previously graphic novel, Marbles, I was unaware that she had created a guidebook to life with bipolar disorder. I'm so grateful I found this book. It has helpful, succinct data and information on how to live well with bipolar disorder. I have it on my nightstand for days when I'm not feeling well and need to figure out how to live better with this illness.

I downloaded this book shortly after being diagnosed with bipolar II. A year and a half later, I finally read it because I was finally in the right headspace. I feel very seen after reading this book. It reinforced that I’m not alone and there are so many tools out there to help. It’s well written with good illustrations; it has loads of useful advice and referrals to resources; and, it’s not too heavy- the lighter tone helped ease my anxiety around the effort required to take care of myself and my mental health. It certainly requires work, but that work should make life feel easier, and that gives me some hope.

This book is an excellent manual for anyone who lives with a mood disorder. I wish I’d had something like this when I was first diagnosed, but it’s been immensely helpful to me now. Forney is practical in her advice, but also kind of hilarious in the comics that are scattered without. If you have a mood disorder, buy this book! Better yet, if you know someone with a mood disorder, buy it for them!

This book has helped me better understand how to support my family member. Ellen’s humor and style make it particularly digestible during a difficult time.

Great read

I wasn't familiar with Ellen Forney's work, but when I found out this was a guidebook to surviving bipolar composed by a cartoonist who lives with the disorder, I snapped it up. This hilarious guide to intelligent life in the bipolar galaxy surpassed my expectations. Imagine: wise counsel, factual information, quirky side notes, and bold, expressive graphics--all delivered with a thoroughly refreshing sense of "I'm there with you" humor. YES! New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast has it right: this is a smart, helpful book for anybody dealing with emotions and the everyday changeability of life.

What a great resource for learning to live with bipolar, not merely cope. Her illustrations are the perfect format, particularly since many people with bipolar are also artistic and visual. Her lived experience shines throughout, particularly in her choice of topics, like dedicating an entire chapter to insomnia. People with bipolar disorder, people who love or live with someone with bipolar disorder, and any professional who works with even a single person with bipolar disorder needs to read this book.

Serious advice in a lighthearted manner from someone who’s been there. Great For younger people and the newly diagnosed to get a grasp of the key factors in managing the potentially devastating life effects of this disorder. Offers hope and an overview of what it takes to get and stay stable.