More Than the Madness Review by Ally B.
By John Kaniecki
Published by Dreaming Big Publications
ABOUT THE BOOK
This book gives readers a glimpse into the life of someone living with bipolar disorder. It’s not a clinical book filled with facts and figures, but a book of humanity.
Spanning childhood to early adult, through stories of abuse, being bullied, experimentation with drugs and alcohol, inpatient stays on psych wards, a night in jail, his college days in the fraternity, hitchhiking across America, and his time in a third world country, John gives the reader a personal and up-close look into his life as a manic depressive. The stories are sad, shocking, and at times funny as he shares his antics while at his most manic and delusional.
Throughout his journey, John also struggles with his faith in God. More than the Madness is a testament of one man’s journey to grow closer to God while gaining a better understanding of himself.
John wrote his story to help educate others on mental illness and remove some of the stigma associated with it. It is his hope that readers will get to know the person behind the diagnosis; take away the labels and meet someone's son, friend, and husband. See that there is More Than the Madness.
Genre: Memoir/Mental Illness
270 Pages
MY REVIEW
5 out of 5 stars
There has been a terrible stigma associated with mental illness and its sufferers for years. People have viewed mental illness as something horrible to think of and taboo to speak about. Recently however, there have been steps throughout our society to change this stigma and start a conversation about the many vicissitudes and faces of mental illness and those who experience it. “More Than the Madness” is one of such steps as Kaniecki seeks to educate his readership abut the realities of mental illness, particularly bipolar disorder, in order to reduce some of the ignorance surrounding it.
Kaniecki uses information and anecdotes from his own life and experience to provide a human face to the phenomenon of mental illness. Through the form of a memoir, Kaniecki personalizes mental illness, making it something more approachable and understandable for the average reader who most likely has not experienced mental illness first hand. Kaniecki allows the reader to better understand the realities of mental illness and how it affects the lives of those who experience it, which is utterly necessary in order to reduce the stigma surrounding illnesses of the mind. The work is quite insightful and at times incredibly moving. I found myself leaving the book more informed and educated regarding bipolar disorder. This is a wonderful and vivid book that would be both useful and entertaining to anyone who reads it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Kaniecki is an author and poet. His works has been published in over eighty outlets. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Pompton Plains, New Jersey. He attended Steven's Institute of Technology for two years before dropping out. At that time John became a Christian and a member of the Church of Christ. Also John began to seriously suffer from bipolar disorder. This mental illness would adversely affect John. As such the topic is dealt with in his writing. In particular in his book of memoirs "More Than The Madness". Also the experience is poetically explored in the book "Murmurings Of A Mad Man". John's shining achievement is his poetry book "Poet To The Poor,Poems Of Hope For The Bottom One Percent." This book deals with historical figures and events along with people from John's own life. True to John's poetic philosophy the book is written with poems that deliver a clear message. Rhyming and rhythm are prominent. John's book "Sunset Shadows" is a book of classically written sonnets dealing with dying and death in a spiritual and wholesome way. "A Day's Weather" completes John's present poetry collection which is a depiction of his days as a neophyte poet. This early work is a wholesome and quaint collection.
John has a science fiction anthology called Words of the Future. This book is interesting, unique and exciting. John presently has two horror books out, "Scarecrow, Scarecrow" and "Satan's Siren". These two books are part of a series following the main character Anne McFry.
John presently lives in Montclair with his wife Sylvia. John is a volunteer minister at the Church of Christ at Chancellor Avenue which is located in the south ward of Newark New Jersey. John is also a full time caregiver for his wife. Expect more exciting stuff from John soon.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for writing a review. I am not obligated to give a positive review, and all thoughts are my own.
https://www.amazon.com/More-than-Madness-John-Kaniecki/dp/1539430138/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
By John Kaniecki
Published by Dreaming Big Publications
ABOUT THE BOOK
This book gives readers a glimpse into the life of someone living with bipolar disorder. It’s not a clinical book filled with facts and figures, but a book of humanity.
Spanning childhood to early adult, through stories of abuse, being bullied, experimentation with drugs and alcohol, inpatient stays on psych wards, a night in jail, his college days in the fraternity, hitchhiking across America, and his time in a third world country, John gives the reader a personal and up-close look into his life as a manic depressive. The stories are sad, shocking, and at times funny as he shares his antics while at his most manic and delusional.
Throughout his journey, John also struggles with his faith in God. More than the Madness is a testament of one man’s journey to grow closer to God while gaining a better understanding of himself.
John wrote his story to help educate others on mental illness and remove some of the stigma associated with it. It is his hope that readers will get to know the person behind the diagnosis; take away the labels and meet someone's son, friend, and husband. See that there is More Than the Madness.
Genre: Memoir/Mental Illness
270 Pages
MY REVIEW
5 out of 5 stars
There has been a terrible stigma associated with mental illness and its sufferers for years. People have viewed mental illness as something horrible to think of and taboo to speak about. Recently however, there have been steps throughout our society to change this stigma and start a conversation about the many vicissitudes and faces of mental illness and those who experience it. “More Than the Madness” is one of such steps as Kaniecki seeks to educate his readership abut the realities of mental illness, particularly bipolar disorder, in order to reduce some of the ignorance surrounding it.
Kaniecki uses information and anecdotes from his own life and experience to provide a human face to the phenomenon of mental illness. Through the form of a memoir, Kaniecki personalizes mental illness, making it something more approachable and understandable for the average reader who most likely has not experienced mental illness first hand. Kaniecki allows the reader to better understand the realities of mental illness and how it affects the lives of those who experience it, which is utterly necessary in order to reduce the stigma surrounding illnesses of the mind. The work is quite insightful and at times incredibly moving. I found myself leaving the book more informed and educated regarding bipolar disorder. This is a wonderful and vivid book that would be both useful and entertaining to anyone who reads it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Kaniecki is an author and poet. His works has been published in over eighty outlets. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Pompton Plains, New Jersey. He attended Steven's Institute of Technology for two years before dropping out. At that time John became a Christian and a member of the Church of Christ. Also John began to seriously suffer from bipolar disorder. This mental illness would adversely affect John. As such the topic is dealt with in his writing. In particular in his book of memoirs "More Than The Madness". Also the experience is poetically explored in the book "Murmurings Of A Mad Man". John's shining achievement is his poetry book "Poet To The Poor,Poems Of Hope For The Bottom One Percent." This book deals with historical figures and events along with people from John's own life. True to John's poetic philosophy the book is written with poems that deliver a clear message. Rhyming and rhythm are prominent. John's book "Sunset Shadows" is a book of classically written sonnets dealing with dying and death in a spiritual and wholesome way. "A Day's Weather" completes John's present poetry collection which is a depiction of his days as a neophyte poet. This early work is a wholesome and quaint collection.
John has a science fiction anthology called Words of the Future. This book is interesting, unique and exciting. John presently has two horror books out, "Scarecrow, Scarecrow" and "Satan's Siren". These two books are part of a series following the main character Anne McFry.
John presently lives in Montclair with his wife Sylvia. John is a volunteer minister at the Church of Christ at Chancellor Avenue which is located in the south ward of Newark New Jersey. John is also a full time caregiver for his wife. Expect more exciting stuff from John soon.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for writing a review. I am not obligated to give a positive review, and all thoughts are my own.
https://www.amazon.com/More-than-Madness-John-Kaniecki/dp/1539430138/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
RSS Feed
