{"product_id":"1976-growing-up-bipolar-9781739680008","title":"1976 - Growing Up Bipolar","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e1976 - Growing Up Bipolar\u003c\/em\u003e is a disturbing, but darkly humorous and life-affirming mental health memoir by Mark Fleming, a Scottish writer and musician.\u003c\/strong\u003e Diagnosed with \u003cstrong\u003ebipolar disorder\u003c\/strong\u003e in his 20s, this book is heavily reliant on his actual medical case notes as an inpatient and outpatient, but is also set against the wider picture of the chaotic but inspirational post-punk scene of the late-1970s and 1980s in his native Edinburgh. Through an unflinching, unsentimental eye, Fleming takes the reader into bipolar's \u003cstrong\u003edepths of depression and unnatural highs of mania\u003c\/strong\u003e, and is candid about his experiences of locked psych wards, the debilitating side-effects of potent anti-psychotic drugs, and the wonderful and weird but terrifying places his deluded mind took him to.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe subject of \u003cstrong\u003emental health\u003c\/strong\u003e has been described as permanently contemporary, with awareness of vital importance in challenging ongoing misconceptions at a time when one-in-four will have issues at some point, while depression can be a trigger for suicide, still the single biggest killer of males under-45 in Britain. Fleming rolls back the years to a time when mental health was far more heavily stigmatised, his unravelling health a journey into the unknown for himself and his family. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis story focuses on key events before, during, and after his peak bipolar spell (1987-1990). Delving deep into the \u003cstrong\u003epsyche of a chemically-imbalanced mind\u003c\/strong\u003e, he relives a tragic event during the heatwave of 1976 that left the indelible stain in his adolescence the possibly led to illness in later years. \u003cstrong\u003e(Mental injuries are cited as a common prompt for bipolar disorder, while the majority of patients are diagnosed in their teens and 20s). \u003c\/strong\u003eHe also ponders why lithium treatment was considered the sole antidote to his situation, and why he was left to languish on this potent medication for almost three decades.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMuch of the book's timescale overlaps with Grant McPhee's award-winning documentary, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eBig Gold Dream: The Sound of Young Scotland 1977-1985.\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003eSo, \u003cem\u003e1976 - Growing Up Bipolar\u003c\/em\u003e is so much more than a lurid story about the fallout of mental breakdowns. It is a celebration of the \u003cstrong\u003erejuvenating potency of music\u003c\/strong\u003e, at times a vivid celebration of \u003cstrong\u003eScotland's electrifying indie and post-punk music and cultural scenes\u003c\/strong\u003e, awash with enthusiastic anecdotes about gigging, songwriting, recording sessions at \u003cstrong\u003eBBC's Maida Vale studios, \u003c\/strong\u003eand teenage obsessions with sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. The cathartic impact of John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show and a long-time devotion to Manchester post-punk legends The Fall figure prominently.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBestselling Edinburgh author Irvine Welsh read an early draft of \u003cem\u003e1976 - Growing Up Bipolar\u003c\/em\u003e entitled \u003cem\u003eBrainBomb\u003c\/em\u003e (named after a song title by cult Newcastle post-punk band Punishment of Luxury). His comment, \"It moved like a rocket, and it's mashed my head!\" was so apt.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Mark Fleming\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/23\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781739680008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 450\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.96lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.81h x 5.06w x 0.91d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLarge Print\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Mark Fleming","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42334531158197,"sku":"9781739680008","price":13.59,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_13f865d5-b2b2-4d0b-a725-ce9c9efc3b81.jpg?v=1660628755","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/1976-growing-up-bipolar-9781739680008","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}