An Unqiet Mind: Personal and Professional Perspectives on Mental Illness

Returning to our area is Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., the author of An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness. Dr. Jamison is the Dalio Professor of Mood Disorders, Professor of Psychiatry at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Center. She is an international authority and researcher on mood disorders. Chosen by Time as a “Hero of Medicine,” she has unique insight into the world of mental illness.

Dr. Jamison went public with her own struggle with bipolar disorder in a 1995 Washington Post article and subsequent book, An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness. This candid, sensitive book was groundbreaking in helping to push back against the stigma of depression and mental illness. It became a New York Times bestseller, and since its release she has become a trusted advocate for the millions who suffer from mood disorders.

Dr. Jamison’s evening talk, which has broad regional support from several school districts and non-profit organizations, will reflect on mood disorders from her personal and professional perspectives, and will focus on the experience of mental illness, especially its manifestations in high school and college, diagnosis, suicide, and the importance of good medical care and psychotherapy. Dr. Jamison’s national bestseller, Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide was selected as a New York Times Notable Book. She is a recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship.