I'm Telling the Truth but I'm Lying is a memoir by Nigerian spoken word artist Bassey Ikpi published by Harper Perennial an imprint of HarperCollins in 2019. [1] [2]
I'm Telling the Truth but I'm Lying is a memoir by Nigerian spoken word artist Bassey Ikpi published by Harper Perennial an imprint of HarperCollins in 2019. [1] [2]
The book is described as "a deep personal work that chronicles the Nigerian-American author's life living with bipolar II disorder and anxiety, and a woman of color and combating the stigma surrounding it." [3] The essays cover her difficulties as a young child re-locating from Nigeria to America, struggling with household tensions, depression and hospitalization, leading up to her eventual diagnosis of and treatment for bipolar II disorder. [4]
On May 4, 2017, it was announced that her first book, a memoir titled Making Friends With Giants would be published by Harper Perennial in 2018. [3] The book, eventually renamed I'm Telling the Truth But I'm Lying was published in August 2019.
The book became a New York Times bestseller. [5] Essence described it as a "stunning essay collection". [4] Kola Tubosun calls it "a kind of map for those interested in learning about how mental illness affects people." [6]
Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mood disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated happiness that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with psychosis, it is called mania; if it is less severe, it is called hypomania. During mania, an individual behaves or feels abnormally energetic, happy or irritable, and they often make impulsive decisions with little regard for the consequences. There is usually also a reduced need for sleep during manic phases. During periods of depression, the individual may experience crying and have a negative outlook on life and poor eye contact with others. The risk of suicide is high; over a period of 20 years, 6% of those with bipolar disorder died by suicide, while 30–40% engaged in self-harm. Other mental health issues, such as anxiety disorders and substance use disorders, are commonly associated with bipolar disorder.
Kay Redfield Jamison is an American clinical psychologist and writer. Her work has centered on bipolar disorder, which she has had since her early adulthood. She holds the post of the Dalio Professor in Mood Disorders and Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and is an Honorary Professor of English at the University of St Andrews.
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Works of fiction dealing with mental illness include:
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Scattershot: My Bipolar Family is a 2008 memoir, written by American writer, carpenter, and former Montague Bookmill proprietor David Lovelace, published by Dutton Adult. Lovelace's memoir chronicles the challenges of growing up in a family in which four out of five members suffer from bipolar disorder, including Lovelace himself. Only his sister, who is a professional therapist, was spared the ravages of bipolar disorder, while both his parents, his brother, and himself, have suffered to differing degrees over the years.
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Zosia March is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actress Camilla Arfwedson. She first appeared in the series fifteen episode "The Kick Inside", broadcast on 10 September 2013. Zosia arrives at Holby City hospital to start her first year of the Foundation Programme. She has a vested interest in psychiatry and has worked on both Darwin and Keller wards mentored by Elliot Hope and Sacha Levy respectively. She is characterised as a forthright, intelligent and unafraid to challenge the hospital hierarchy. The show soon introduced Zosia's estranged father, Guy Self. They share a dysfunctional relationship following the death of her mother. Their feud jeopardises Zosia's career and on one occasion she is thrown off Keller following a rude confrontation. Other storylines revolve around close colleagues Arthur Digby and Dominic Copeland and romances with Sebastian Coulter and Oliver Valentine, whom she later married.
Bassey Ikpi is a Nigerian-born American spoken-word artist, writer, and mental health advocate. She has appeared on HBO's Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry five times and her poetry has opened shows for Grammy Award-winning artists. She's also the New York Times bestselling author of I'm Telling The Truth But I'm Lying. In 2020 she judged the Indiana Review Creative Nonfiction Prize. She also features on the OkayAfrica's 100 Women campaign 2020 honoree list, which celebrates women building infrastructure for future African generations.
Gorilla and the Bird: A Memoir of Madness and a Mother's Love is a memoir by the American public defender Zack McDermott published in 2017.
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Telling the Truth: the Gospel as tragedy, comedy, and fairy tale, is a collection of essays by Frederick Buechner on the subject of homiletics. It was first composed for and delivered at the Yale Divinity School Lyman Beecher Lecture series in 1976. Telling the Truth was subsequently published in 1977 by Harper Collins. It is Buechner's sixth non-fiction work.
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