Early Reviews for 'Lost Marbles'

I was lucky enough to receive some amazing early reviews for Lost Marbles: Insights into My Life with Depression & Bipolar (now available in both paperback and eBook). If you’re not familiar with my book Lost Marbles, click here for more.

I’m honored to say that Julie A. Fast, author of Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder, Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder and Get It Done When You’re Depressed, has this to say about the book:

Natasha’s book transforms the terrible into the lyrical, the sad into the hopeful and the confusing into an educational experience that speaks to anyone touched by bipolar disorder symptoms. She knows that learning to manage this illness takes time and a sense of humor. Natasha creates a realistic, stark and always enlightening book. She’s aware of the contradictions she presents and offers an honest look at what it’s really like to live with this illness. Lost Marbles addresses the questions we all have, but often don’t know who to ask for information. What does it feel like to be manic? What is it really like on the psych ward? Is depression forever? Can people with bipolar disorder get better? We learn through her stories of how she finds answers to these questions. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to be entertained while learning the extremely important strategies we all need to live successful, stable and joyful lives.

In this book is my traditional, politically-incorrect writing style combined with new ideas and ways of looking at mental illness. You’ll also find sections devoted to the latest medication recommendations for both bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder. For a view of the table of contents and more, use Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature.

I’m also honored to say that Dr. Prakash Masand, a psychiatrist and Founder and CEO of Global Medical Education, Adjunct Professor, Duke-NUS, has this to say about the book:

“Lost Marbles: Insights Into My Life with Depression & Bipolar” is a poignant story, told from a patient’s perspective, on living with bipolar illness. Tracy provides valuable insights into this disease, lessons learned (often the hard way) and helpful advice on managing the illness. At times brutally honest, she delves into some of the more difficult issues surrounding bipolar illness, including self-destructive behaviors and suicide. “Lost Marbles” is a valuable resource for patients, family members of those living with this disease, and health care professionals who treat psychiatric illnesses.

Andy Behrman, best known for his work Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania, has this to say:

The foremost expert on mental health, Natasha Tracy, provides an extraordinarily comprehensive and thoughtfully-researched, well-organized, and accessible book that should not only be very helpful to those with mental illness but also to their friends and family. ‘Lost Marbles’ will certainly save lives.

But What Do Mental Health Advocates Think of Lost Marbles by Natasha Tracy?

I’m lucky enough to know a few advocates and, in fact, I know DJ Jaffe who I consider to be the premiere serious mental illness advocate. He stands up for the seriously mentally ill in a way I don’t — as he knows all about policy and what is going on in Washington, and that’s just not my thing. If it weren’t for people like him, laws that benefit the seriously mentally ill wouldn’t get passed.

So, DJ Jaffe, Exec. Dir., Mental Illness Policy Org. and author of Insane Consequences: How the mental health industry fails the mentally ill, says this:

“Lost Marbles: Insights into My Life with Depression & Bipolar” is a witty, original, informed, politically incorrect, and iconoclastic description of what it is like to live with serious mental illness and how to come out on the other side. Natasha Tracy challenges almost every conventional wisdom about living with mental illness. She brings clarity, compassion, a deep understanding and irreverence to subjects including suicide, and deciding whether to take medications or stop medications. She is almost blasphemous in the depth of their introspection. If you want to understand what goes on inside the mind of a bipolar and why, then read this book. You’ll understand how Natasha Tracy became one of the internet’s top mental illness writers.

I am also fortunate to know Susan Inman, author, After Her Brain Broke: Helping My Daughter Recover Her Sanity, and another fabulous mental illness advocate. She has this to say about the book:

Natasha Tracy’s new book combines her deeply personal and vividly recounted experiences with bipolar disorder with up-to-date accounts of the latest research. Along with a basic primer about depression and bipolar disorder, she includes a selection of some of her most popular articles. New readers will see why Natasha has become a leading voice for people wanting to use the best medical and therapeutic practices to control serious mental illnesses. Despite ongoing attacks from anti-psychiatry groups, Natasha’s message remains strong, “Bipolar is abnormal. Mental illness is abnormal. That’s what makes it an illness.”

I hope you will consider buying this book and sharing it with your loved ones. I believe this book can be a door that opens up the conversations that we all really need to have.