Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Now Available as a Paperback

From Therese Borchard, author of Beyond Blue:

I kept saying to myself, "Did he just write that?" "Did he really just write that?" until I got to the third chapter and expected the pages ahead to be full of the same playful, entertaining .... um .... original prose that preceded it.

Anyone can jot down the bizarre thought patterns that are floating between their brain lobes. I guess what makes McManamy different is that he has taken a tour of Dante's Inferno and, while there, jotted down some funny notes that people who had been to Dante's Purgatory--or maybe even the first layer of hell--might appreciate, read in the bathroom, or digest like their favorite comics because the stories simply make them feel better. They are written by an intelligent man who has suffered and has been able to translate that suffering into hysterical laughter.

Funny is good. And this man's outrageous stories make me laugh. Sometimes they even make me forget about my day's trauma. Now that's a miracle.





Purchase paperback edition ($9.95)

Or download directly to your Kindle or Kindle app ($4.99):

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Bipolar Relationships

A quick note: On Thursday, I will be addressing the International Bipolar Foundation on Relationships. Details:

Living with Someone who has Bipolar; Living with Someone who has "Normal"

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Speaker: John McManamy

5:30-6:00- SOCIAL 6:00-6:45-LECTURE 6:45-7:00- Q and A  
Location: Sanford Children's Research Center, Building 12 Address: 10905 Road to Cure, San Diego 92121

Public welcome. See you there!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

In Appreciation: Mike Wallace 1918-2012

I will be very brief. He was one of us. In 1997 he disclosed his bouts with depression. As much as anything else, his going public brought out into the open a topic that had been considered taboo. He was a hero, one who lived by his ideal to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comforted. He was a role model, working into his late eighties, going-going-going. And he remains a legend, long to be remembered.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Some Interesting Facts About Raccoons Respect My Piss (Plus a Few You Wish You Didn't Know)

I'm still nose down-ass up in the post-production phase of my new Kindle book, RACCOONS RESPECT MY PISS BUT WATCH OUT FOR SKUNKS. Scout's honor: I will return to blogging as usual once I come up for air. In the meantime, a few interesting tidbits regarding the book:

No animals were harmed in the making of RACCOONS. Pity about the human.

I refrained from gratuitous use of the word, "quotidian."

I insisted that the book be printed on environment-friendly paper only. Then I found out that Kindle books don't use paper.

The official peanut butter employed in the Raccoons Project is Laura Scudder "Nutty." (How appropriate.)

The Lamborghini Murcielago was chosen as the official car of the Raccoons Project. Unfortunately, Lamborghini never got back to me.

The word "bipolar" appears 10 times in the book. The word "crazy" 28 times. This is intentional.

In the movie version of the book, I save the world and get the girl, or get slowly eaten by a well-mannered orange land whale - I can't remember which.

The skunks still laugh at me.

***

You can start reading my book right now by clicking on the link below, which will take you to Amazon.com. Because I am cutting out the middleman, I am offering RACCOONS at the very low price of $4.99.



If you don't have a Kindle, you can download your free Kindle app for your iPad, phone, desktop, or laptop by clicking the link below.

Download your free Kindle app.

Happy reading!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

At Long Last! Raccoons Respect My Piss But Watch Out For Skunks ...

When you're both depressed and crazy, life has a way of becoming hilarious. I always sort of knew this, but it wasn't till my friend Therese Borchard (author of Beyond Blue) urged me to emphasize my funny and personal side that the message came in loud and clear.

Soon, I was writing about some of my comic misadventures in dealing with life on a planet seemingly built for other people. We are outsiders, all of us, all of humanity. A lot of us simply don't know it. I soon discovered that I was rewriting my favorite piece of literature, Homer's Odyssey, the story of a battle-weary man, living by his wits, longing to return home.

Except that I was dealing with things such as skunks walking in through the cat flap. I was also pondering life's impenetrable mysteries, such as the purpose of Ramen noodles. What was the connection?

It wasn't long before I figured out that our purpose here on earth is to make God laugh. Trust me, every day we do something to make Him snort milk out of His nose. But I also came to this important realization: Every time we make God laugh we have the opportunity to learn an important life lesson.

I have had plenty of opportunities to learn. This is my story - an outsider, cast up on a strange shore, seeking a place I can call home. In many ways, it's your story, too. We all face similar challenges, deal with similar issues. We may stumble in the dark, gritting our teeth through the pain, but we learn along the way, and that's a start.

Whether contending with mental illness or contending with normal, RACCOONS validates your worth as a human being, a band of light, a soul with neurons. Let the healing begin.

A quick sampling:

From Chapter One:

I perform my own stunts. Trust me, through large parts of my life I would have loved to employ a stunt double and perhaps someday I will. Take my depressions—please. It was around the time I was in seventh grade that I had a profound sense that I wanted to return to the planet that I was born on, any planet but this one. I was small and skinny with glasses and had a nerdy personality.

A nerd is an individual not smart enough to be a geek.

From Chapter Eight:

Life, unfortunately, doesn't come with a manual, and the tech support is a joke. Seriously, when has God—or St Aloysius, even—ever gotten back to you? Is it too much for God to stop what He is doing for just one second and tell me that the vital piece of hardware I dropped on the floor—the one I desperately need to assemble my counter extender from IKEA—rolled under the refrigerator?

It's not like I am asking God to move the refrigerator for me. Or, for that matter, to assemble my IKEA furniture, though that would be a very nice gesture. IKEA, by the way, is Sweden's revenge for not being allowed to be Vikings, anymore.


Hannibal's elephants, in battle formation, about to unleash a deadly volley.

From Chapter Eleven:

Thursday morning, I got hold of a cab driver and we negotiated a flat rate to go shopping for used cars. "They say it's best to buy a Japanese car," I opened. (Who said I didn't do my research?)

The cab driver (who was driving a Lexus) enthusiastically concurred.

We pulled into the first car lot on my list. Five VWs with silver paint were lined up in a row. "Get the car with the silver paint!" the two-year-old part of my brain screamed at me. But I'm way too sophisticated for that.

"Uh, German is kind of like Japanese," I said tentatively to the cab driver. Yes, he agreed. Good enough for me. After all, they both lost World War II.

From Chapter Eighteen:

And when it comes to a loving relationship, it's not just one person we're talking about. For starters, there's her family to deal with. Every time, the same sense of deja vu. "Weren't you 'Patient X' I was reading about in the New England Journal of Abnormal Psychology?" I am tempted to inquire of the scheming sister of the clan.

From Chapter Twenty:

Bipolar is the "crazy" diagnosis. Call me crazy. We do things that attract unwanted attention to ourselves, you know, like discovering America, painting the Sistine Chapel, founding the US, figuring out gravity, coming up with alternating current, and inventing rock 'n roll.

As I like to say to people: "We give you the gift of civilization and how do you treat us? You marginalize us."

From Chapter Twenty-Seven:

1. If you think you are experiencing God—it's probably dopamine.
2. If you think you are experiencing love—it's probably dopamine.
3. That doesn't mean God or love is not real ...
4. ... but we know dopamine is.


My idea of hell.

You can start reading my book right now by clicking on the link below, which will take you to Amazon.com. Because I am cutting out the middleman, I am offering RACCOONS at the very low price of $4.99.



If you don't have a Kindle, you can download your free Kindle app for your iPad, phone, desktop, or laptop by clicking the link below.

Download your free Kindle app.

Happy reading!

Monday, April 2, 2012

My New Kindle Book!!

Here is why I haven't been posting recently: I just completed the Kindle Book I promised, and it's now up on Amazon:

Raccoons Respect My Piss But Watch Out For Skunks: My Funny Life on a Planet Not of My Choosing That I Now - Sort of, Maybe, Well Okay - Call Home

Here is the product description from the site:

When you’re both depressed and crazy, life has a way of becoming hilarious. In his new book, highly regarded mental health author and advocate John McManamy displays his wickedly dark and equally exuberant funny side.


RACCOONS RESPECT MY PISS BUT WATCH OUT FOR SKUNKS recounts the author’s comically absurd misadventures in dealing with life on a planet seemingly built for other people. Childhood, relationships, nature’s furry psychopaths, falling in love, neurons, God, UFOs, Hannibal’s elephants - it’s all there. Each chapter tells a story, the stories bind into a narrative. The narrative builds into profound realizations.


And you are laughing all the way.


John McManamy’s deep humanity and ability to connect to others is unmistakable. RACCOONS is a timeless story, one to which we can all relate, of one individual’s long and painful and ultimately heartening journey to find home.


Whether contending with mental illness or contending with normal, RACCOONS validates your worth as a human being, a band of light, a soul with neurons. Let the healing begin.


PRICE: $4.99 (Cheap)




The book is available on Kindle or any device or computer that has a Kindle App. These include your desktop or laptop, iPAD, and smart phone. To download your FREE Kindle App, go to this page on Amazon.