“Meds would bring me down!” Taking pride in her membership in “Club van Gogh (The true artist is a crazy artist),” she subsequently suffered from periods of depression that brought her down far lower than medication even could. “I don’t want balance, I want brilliance!” she exclaims during one of her manic phases. Since the connection between artistry and mental instability has been well-documented, plenty of those diagnosed with bipolar disorder share the fears articulated in this unflinchingly honest memoir by Forney ( I Love Led Zeppelin, 2006, etc.). 'Marbles” is published by Penguin Random House and is available from the publisher, WSU bookstore, and other booksellers.Īdditionally, a packet of teaching and contextual materials for prospective faculty adopters is available for those teaching the book.įaculty adopters should simply list the book on their book request for Fall and/or Spring.įunding for the Common Book has generously been made available by the College of Liberal Arts and the WSU Cabinet.For anyone who loves graphic memoir or has concerns about bipolar swings, creativity and medication, this narrative will prove as engaging and informative as it is inspirational. Use this opportunity to learn more about the greater community and turn your knowledge into action.

The book will be adopted in numerous sections of ENG 111: College Reading and Writing, and it may be adopted in other courses as well. If you choose to read 'Marbles,' incorporate what you take away from the book into your life while at Winona State University. “'Marbles,' cartoonist Ellen Forney's excellent graphic memoir about being bipolar, opens with her in the middle of a 5 1/2-hour session in a tattoo parlor.Įvery time the needle traces a line, Forney writes, she can ‘see the sensation-a bright white light, an electrical charge.’ Those opening words are a perfect description of her book.įrom the very first page, Forney allows us to see sensation-to inhabit, as closely as possible, her bipolar world, from its manic, exhilarating highs to its oceanic, debilitating lows.īipolar disorder defies easy treatment each individual patient must become their own guinea pig to discover the balance of medication and lifestyle therapies that will allow him or her to achieve long-term stability.įor Forney, this was an intense four-year process that she chronicles with her deceptively simple drawing style, an emotive line that matches her expressive prose.” Check out what Myla Goldberg from NPR had to say about 'Marbles': Winona State University Common Book Project will feature Ellen Forney’s 'Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me.'įorney’s graphic memoir was a New York Times bestseller and Washington Post book of the year. The 2022-23 Common Book is “Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me.”

Marbles by Ellen Forney