More or Less Maddy: A Novel by Lisa Genova

The powerhouse New York Times bestselling author and Harvard-trained neuroscientist returns with a breathless, exhilarating, and heartbreaking novel about a young woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the ripple effects her mental health has on her family and her pursuit of a career in stand-up comedy.

Maddy Banks is just like any other stressed-out freshman at NYU. Between heaps of homework, finals, and navigating life in the city, it’s normal to be feeling the pressure. It doesn’t help that she’s always felt like the odd one out in her “perfect” Connecticut her blonde, toned, and tanned mother; her flawless, high-achieving, engaged sister, Emily; and her always popular, athletic, easygoing brother, Jack. Yet lately, Maddy’s highs seem dizzyingly high, and the lows seem terrifyingly low. Suddenly, the things that used to make her happy are becoming harder and harder to grasp.

When a spontaneous visit to a comedy club opens her eyes to a new hobby just as her mental health begins to spiral and an incident at a family Thanksgiving dinner leads to a terrifying breaking point—and to a new diagnosis—Maddy’s life starts to look quite different. As she struggles to accept her bipolar disorder and attempts to navigate her burgeoning stand-up career, she’ll have to figure out how to manage being both too much and not enough.

Kindle Edition, 368, pages

Expected publication January 14, 2025

 by Simon & Schuster

4/5 stars

Lisa Genova is known for her books that deal with real medical conditions in an authentic and respectful way.  It's evident that she does a lot of research and digs deep into the subject matter.  With More or Less Maddy she opened my eyes to bipolar.  Being unfamiliar with it this was a true eye opener.

For 19-year-old Maddy, a freshman at NYU, she has all the experiences other first years have but her world comes tumbling down with a bipolar diagnosis. I did find this book slow going at the beginning, but after her episodes and diagnosis I was captivated.  Though there were a few times I had to set the book aside as I found it a bit emotionally and overwhelming with all that she was going through. This was very much a telling story, seen through Maddy’s eyes.  Talk about a first hand account.

More or Less Maddy is a story of mental health and the stigma that goes with it and about family, one can't help feeling her mother’s struggle also. A well written read.

My thanks to Simon & Schuster CA for a digital arc and exchange for a honest review