Read a letter penned by More or Less Maddy author Lisa Genova.

In this letter, author Lisa Genova introduces her new novel More or Less Maddy, and talks about the backstory behind the creation of this profoundly moving novel that makes complicated mental health issues accessible and human.
Dear Reader,
Before I introduce you to my newest book, I’d like to take a nostalgic look back at the first. Still Alice was published fifteen years ago. Funny how that life-changing moment feels both only a minute ago and from another lifetime. It’s been an amazing journey since that includes five more bestselling books and an Oscar-winning movie, and a lot of you have been on that ride with me from the beginning. I have so many fond memories of touring Australia (twice!) and meeting many of you in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide. I can’t thank you enough for supporting and celebrating these stories I’ve written.
As both a neuroscientist fascinated by neurological conditions and a novelist interested in our shared human condition, I choose to write about people who tend to be ignored, feared, and misunderstood because of what’s going on inside their brains. People who actually live with these conditions see themselves in the characters I create and feel, maybe for the first time, that they are not alone. Through story, readers not affected by these brain conditions can now understand what was previously unfamiliar or too uncomfortable to consider. As many of you know, I’ve written novels about Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injury, autism, Huntington’s disease, and ALS. But I had yet to take on anything classified as mental illness.
When I was on tour for Every Note Played, the last Q&A question was typically, ‘What are you writing about next?’ My answer—‘Bipolar disorder’—was invariably followed by gasps, hushed conversation, and applause. As soon as I opened the door to this world, I found bipolar disorder hiding in plain sight everywhere. In doing the research for this story, I was struck by the massive and unnecessary burdens of this diagnosis—the secrecy, stigma, shame, judgment, fear, alienation, desperation, and misinformation—maybe more than any subject I’ve ever written about. I hope this novel helps to humanize this disorder, that it paints a nuanced and compassionate picture of what it feels like to live with bipolar, that it becomes a vehicle for open conversation, understanding, and social change.
I’m incredibly excited and proud to share an early copy of More or Less Maddy with you. I hope you love it! And I hope to see you in person or somewhere on social media soon!
Much love and gratitude,
Lisa Genova

More or Less Maddy
by Lisa Genova
A breathless, riveting novel about a young woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder who rejects the stability and approval found in a traditionally 'normal' life for a career in stand-up comedy.
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