Agents in My Brain: How I Survived Manic Depression - Paperback

by Bill Hannon (Author)

A few brave souls in the public eye, such as Patty Duke, Kay Redfield Jamieson, and more recently, Margot Kidder, have come forward to reveal something about themselves that they had tried very hard to keep hidden -- the fact that they suffer from a mental illness called "manic depression". Also known as "bipolar disorder", this illness is only dimly understood by the population at large and, unfortunately, misconceptions abound.
In this compelling autobiography, Bill Hannon offers an engrossing first-hand account of living with a serious mental illness and the disturbing delusions and paranoias which rendered him incapable of holding a job or accepting help from his friends and family. From his earliest manic episode during a high school trip abroad to his struggles with mis-diagnoses and the frightening side-effects of prescribed drugs, Hannon guides the reader into a world in which crossword puzzles are coded messages from the C.I.A. and a scrap of masking tape on a car windshield means that his conversations are being monitored.

Never before has an author described his own manic episodes in such fascinating and insightful detail as Hannon does in Agents in My Brain.

Back Jacket

In Agents in My Brain, Bill Hannon guides you into a world in which crossword puzzles are coded messages from the CIA and a scrap of masking tape on your car windshield means that your conversations are being monitored. Never before has anyone described the bizarre thought processes of a manic-depressive so clearly. Hannon shares glimpses of his life as a happy, well-adjusted high school student with many friends, a member of the high school swim team, then as a young man going off to college and wondering what he should tell his roommates and potential girlfriends about the unpredictable behavior brought on by his illness. In this authentic, gutsy, sometimes humorous, first-person account of surviving manic-depression, one that hasn't been prettified or romanticized, Hannon tells what is ultimately a success story. He describes how he eventually finds a competent doctor who prescribes medications that help prevent mania and depression with minimal side effects.