Ellen Forney

Ellen Forney's unique memoir on her struggle with bipolar disorder tells her story in graphic fashion, giving it humor and immediacy that straight text memoirs can't match.

Forney was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder right before her 30th birthday. Working as an artist for a living, she refused her doctor's recommendation because she feared that meds would disable her creativity. So she went her way until a manic episode ended in crippling depression. Suddenly, she was willing to try show more lithium.

What I enjoyed about this memoir was her commitment to managing her illness. With journal, charts, drawings, yoga, meds, supplements, exercise, diet--you name it--this girl is ON IT. It's inspiring to see someone embrace responsibility for managing her health. She has clearly accepted that she has this illness for her whole life and she's willing to "go to any lengths" to make the best of it.

I strongly recommend this book for anyone who has bipolar, loves someone who's bipolar, those who aspire to writing graphic memoirs, or voyeurs like me. Forney's great illustrations bring her story home like few other sources: mood disorders, merit badges for enduring the daily routine, and the 16 different meds she took in her search to find the right mix that would stabilize her bipolar are my favorites. The leech phlebotomist is "spot on" to anyone who's spent time in the hospital for any reason, trust me. I'm happy to see I'm not the only person who finds these people just a little too excited about their jobs.

Last part of the book examines whether the stereotype of the crazy artist has any merit. This is where Forney comes to a grand conclusion: I'll leave that for you to discover. show less

Ellen Forney's graphic novel is a rollicking, heart-felt and compelling journey of one woman's experience with bipolar disorder. As an artist, Ellen is hesitant to take medication with the risk of losing her creative abilities. Marbles chronicles Ellen's path through bursts of manic highs and debilitating depression . With the help of a trusted psychiatrist and loyal friends, Ellen is able to reconcile her need for creativity while taking meds which may or may not have detrimental show more consequences. This is an excellent book. It comes to life with wit and humor and her drawings are rendered with the utmost care. Though this book is about bipolar disorder, I think it's also about breaking the chains of mental illness, finding your voice, and, ultimately, claiming a life worth living show less

In this graphic memoir, author and cartoonist Ellen Forney explores her life with Bipolar I disorder, from her initial diagnosis, through years of mood swings and medications, to hard-won stability. It's a hopeful narrative built not on the common trope of "overcoming" a disability, but of learning to live with it, and even finding some things that are not so bad about it: "For better or worse, bipolar disorder is an important part of who I am and how I think," Forney writes (226). Recommended.

In Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me, Ellen Forney describes her bipolar diagnosis and her efforts to manage new routines while also worrying about how the diagnosis would affect her creativity as a cartoonist. Forney uses the graphic novel format to capture the feelings of mania, depression, and her fears about what if in a way that print alone would fail to do so. The visual language works particularly well for portraying the sense of time – either racing or dragging, and show more how cataloging symptoms, tracking medications (and their side-effects), planning work, and deciding who to tell and when – all combine to create their own momentum, or lack thereof. Her frankness in describing this journey may help others with recent diagnoses while the power of hindsight – she writes decades after the events she describes – will offer hope. Her central question about the possible connection between depression and creativity is resolved at the end almost as an afterthought, but that makes sense as it comes as a reflection after much of her mental health journey. Forney’s work will appeal to those who seek to better understand their own diagnoses as well as readers who have not gone through these experiences. She also shows the power of graphic novel memoirs for telling personal stories. show less