Chapter 13 "A Life in Moods" Summary and Analysis

Ending her memoir on a somewhat wistful note, Jamison recalls with a bittersweet nostalgia her intense feelings and moods before achieving stability through lithium. She accepts and acknowledges that her violent mood swings are a part of who she is, and says she's grateful for her more balanced life; but she still grieves the passion, drama and intensity that manic-depressive illness produced. Sometimes a scent, or a certain sound, will trigger a memory of what it used to be like for her in those earlier days; and she relives for a moment both the high-energy rush of mania and the fear that always accompanied her descent into depression.

But, altogether, Jamison believes her life is smoother and easier since she's achieved a kind of equilibrium. Whenever she's tempted to reduce her...