More or Less Maddy

(Hardback, Large Print Edition)

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Description

The powerhouse New York Times bestselling author and Harvard-trained neuroscientist returns with a breathless, exhilarating, and heartbreaking novel about a young woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the ripple effects her mental health has on her family and her pursuit of a career in stand-up comedy.

Maddy Banks is just like any other stressed-out freshman at NYU. Between heaps of homework, finals, and navigating life in the city, its normal to be feeling the pressure. It doesnt help that shes always felt like the odd one out in her perfect Connecticut family: her blonde, toned, and tanned mother; her flawless, high-achieving, engaged sister, Emily; and her always popular, athletic, easygoing brother, Jack. Yet lately, Maddys highs seem dizzyingly high, and the lows seem terrifyingly low. Suddenly, the things that used to make her happy are becoming harder and harder to grasp.

When a spontaneous visit to a comedy club opens her eyes to a new hobby just as her mental health begins to spiral and an incident at a family Thanksgiving dinner leads to a terrifying breaking pointand to a new diagnosisMaddys life starts to look quite different. As she struggles to accept her bipolar disorder and attempts to navigate her burgeoning stand-up career, shell have to figure out how to manage being both too much and not enough.

Reviews

Genova paints a realistic and often painful picture of the toll mental illness takes on both the affected person and loved ones, making for a visceral, harrowing, and undeniably powerful read. Booklist

"As ever, Genova brings both an expert understanding of the neuroscience and a masterful eye for compelling characters in an emotionally textured narrative. Maddy's story is completely absorbing; it may keep readers up all night... Affecting, harrowing, beautiful, and enlightening, as well as a great pleasure to read." Shelf Awareness

Stirring . . . Maddy is a well-drawn character, offering readers a sympathetic look at what its like to live with a bipolar diagnosis, and Genovas signature empathy and insights are on full display. Its a remarkable achievement. Publishers Weekly

Author Bio

Acclaimed as the Oliver Sacks of fiction and the Michael Crichton of brain science, Lisa Genova is the New York Times bestselling author of Still Alice, Left Neglected, Love Anthony, Inside the OBriens, and Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting. Still Alice was adapted into an Oscarwinning film starring Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, and Kristen Stewart. Lisa graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in biopsychology and holds a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard University. She is featured in the documentary films To Not Fade Away and Have You Heard About Greg. Her TED talks on Alzheimers disease and memory have been viewed over eleven million times.