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Trade Paperback
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9781592407323
Overview
Overview
Cartoonist Ellen Forney explores the relationship between "crazy" and "creative" in this graphic memoir of her bipolar disorder, woven with stories of famous bipolar artists and writers.
Shortly before her thirtieth birthday, Forney was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Flagrantly manic and terrified that medications would cause her to lose creativity, she began a years-long struggle to find mental stability while retaining her passions and creativity.
Searching to make sense of the popular concept of the crazy artist, she finds inspiration from the lives and work of other artists and writers who suffered from mood disorders, including Vincent van Gogh, Georgia O'Keeffe, William Styron, and Sylvia Plath. She also researches the clinical aspects of bipolar disorder, including the strengths and limitations of various treatments and medications, and what studies tell us about the conundrum of attempting to "cure" an otherwise brilliant mind.
Darkly funny and intensely personal, Forney's memoir provides a visceral glimpse into the effects of a mood disorder on an artist's work, as she shares her own story through bold black-and-white images and evocative prose.
- Format: TradePaperback
- Author: Forney, Ellen
- ISBN: 9781592407323
- Condition: Used
- Dimensions: 9.00 x 0.88
- Number Of Pages: 256
- Publication Year: 2012
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Mental Health Advocacy + Art + Graphic Novel = Complete Success
Kyle S. - 1 year 10 months agoMarbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me is an autobiographical graphic novel telling the story of Ellen Forney as she struggles through her life as an artist with bipolar disorder. The primary struggle of the story is about Ellen coming to terms with the stereotype of a "struggling" artist and how she can maintain her 'drive' and creativity as an artist while being treated for and living with bipolar disorder. As Ellen survives the very high ups and the deep downs that come with untreated bipolar disorder she begins to describe and chronicle the emotions and experiences of her own mental health issues. By cataloging her moods and feelings through her cartoonist art most people who struggle with mental health disorders such as anxiety, bipolar disorder, or depression will likely find at least a small part of themselves while reading. Ellen Forney has managed to tackle the stigma associated with mental health disorders in a humorous and graceful light; while also managing to recognize mental health illness as a spectrum of issues that each person experiences in a unique way.
HPB Staff Review