The Years of Silence are Past: My Father's Life with Bipolar Disorder

As the other reviews here accurately explain, this slim volume encompasses much more than an insightful look at how his father's long-misdiagnosed mental illness affected the author and his family. That would be quite enough. Yet, while some scholarly writers have one idea and puff it out in volume after volume, Dr. Hinshaw deftly delivers much more than the title suggests, weaving autobiography and biography, this country's... Read Full Review

Stephen Hinshaw demonstrated exceptional courage and scholarship in this passionately written portrayal of his father's struggle with bipolar disorder. Blending scientific perspectives with personal insights, Hinshaw provides a tour of his father's obstacles and triumphs. It is a compelling story about the far reaching implications of severe psychopathology yet it is firmly rooted in inspiring messages of hope and resilience... Read Full Review

This is an excellent book that anyone interested in bipolar disorder or mental illness in general should read. Hinshaw is an excellent writer and brings the details of his father's struggle with bipolar disorder richly to life. The effects of the disease on his father's entire existence are profound and complex- many details and nuances of the illness are described. The book is partly an indictment of the entire mental... Read Full Review

This is one of the best books on any topic I have read lately. Anyone who knows anyone with a psychological problem (that's all of you with a pulse, by the way), should read The Years of Silence are Past. The title refers to the silence that descended on Stephen Hinshaw's family in the face of his father's bipolar illness (manic-depression). The book is so resonant because countless families with a mentally ill family member... Read Full Review