Chapter 9 "Love Watching Madness" Summary and Analysis

Reluctantly, Jamison leaves England and returns to Los Angeles. She dreads re-entering the academic routine and the stress of managing a major psychiatric clinic, and even doubts that she can remember how to conduct a psychiatric evaluation. But once she returns to UCLA, she finds most of her fears groundless and is blessed with a new energy and enthusiasm. She enjoys working on a textbook with another professor on manic-depressive illness, as well as the intellectual rigor of compiling the information for the book. Her mind is clear and her moods are stable, thanks to a carefully adjusted dosage of lithium.

The lower dose of lithium allows Jamison to experience her emotions more fully, without becoming swamped by them. She finds that her state of emotional stability is even preferable to the wild...