Reviews
" Welcome to the Jungle does an excellent job of distilling important elements of bipolarity and bipolar treatment to those in search of trustworthy information. Hilary Smith strikes an effective balance in addressing the experience of bipolar teens and young adults who are struggling to come to terms with the reality of their illness. What they'll find in Ms. Smith's writing is sensible information from someone who talks their talk and walks with balance gained from her own personal journey." -- Russ Federman, Ph.D., ABPP , psychologist, author and blogger - "Bipolar You," Psychology Today E-Magazine, "This book is flatout fantastic. Funny, smart, and unflinchingly astute, Welcome to the Jungle is exactly the guide you want on your journey from chaos to stability as you learn to manage bipolar disorder. Smith's sure voice is a welcome companion over some hard road, and her wry wisdom lights the way. Indispensable." Marya Hornbacher , author of Madness: A Bipolar Life, "Among the wealth of works on bipolar, this title (wisely pulled from a Guns N' Roses lyric) nicely stands out as a super reference for younger readers interested in or actually experiencing bipolar disorder and is also a valuable resource for professionals." -- Library Journal, "Hilary Smith has come through big time with a book about bipolar disorder targeted to teens or 20-somethings experiencing mental illness for the first time." -- Washington Post, "By far the best, most comprehensive self-help book out there about bipolar disorder. Hilary Smith's incredible sense of humor, candor, and wit make her guide both easy to read and a pleasure and a laugh riot. Every person with bipolar (or family member or friend) should read this book as soon as possible. This book will save lives." Andy Behrman , author of Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania, "Hilary Smith's Welcome to the Jungle provides readers with wise and excellent counsel about the thing called bipolar disorder. At once radical education and exuberant conversation, this combo memoir and self-help book is a must read for the millions whose ups and downs cause them to collide with psychiatry and the current supremely flawed mental health system." -- Eric Maisel, Ph.D. , The Future of Mental Health and Rethinking Depression, "Hilary Smith's wise, hilarious, and candid book is a veritable lifesaver not only for those suffering from bipolar disorder, but for those struggling to keep their sanity while loving them. Maybe because the author suffers from the disorder herself, her book is an actual survival guide, brimming with insight, anecdote, and tough love. Recovery was never so inspiring." Allison Burnett , author of Undiscovered Gyrl, "Hilary Smith writes with candor, cleverness and sharp wit, bringing to light what those with bipolar already know: That just because you've been diagnosed with a mental illness doesn't mean you've lost your insight, intelligence or playful (and often self-mocking) sense of humor. Welcome to the Jungle astutely captures the roller coaster of emotions that accompany bipolar--from trenchant despair to uproarious mania--and does so in a way that never alienates the reader, but rather sucks you in and keeps you wanting to go along for the ride. Writing with a wisdom and faculty well beyond her years, Smith had me laughing out loud--not at her, but with her. Whether you're a teen for whom the diagnosis of bipolar is as raw and fresh as a snipped nerve, or in your 20s struggling with the disease for what seems like decades, Welcome to the Jungle is the quintessential young person's companion." -- Malina Saval , author of The Secret Lives of Boys: Inside the Raw Emotional World of Male Teens
