PROFILE
Author of An Unquiet Mind, Professor of Psychiatry at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Kay Redfield Jamison is an international authority and researcher on mood disorders. Chosen by TIME as a “Hero of Medicine," she has unique insight into the world of mental illness.
Dr. Jamison went public with her own struggle with manic depression in a 1995 Washington Post article and subsequent book, An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness. The book became a New York Times bestseller that, according to Oliver Sacks, “stands alone in the literature of manic depression for its bravery, brilliance, and beauty.” Since its release she has become a trusted advocate for the millions who suffer from mental illness.
Her national bestseller, Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide was selected as a New York Times Notable Book. She co-authored the standard medical textbook on manic depression, Manic-Depressive Illness: Bipolar Disorders and Recurrent Depression, which was chosen by the American Association of Publishers as one of the most outstanding books in Biomedical Science. She also is the author of Exuberance: The Passion for Life. In 2013 Jamison’s book Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament was awarded the Lewis Thomas Prize, which recognizes scientific works that reach a wider audience outside of the laboratory.
Her latest memoir, Nothing Was the Same, is a haunting meditation on mortality, grief, and loss as Jamison looks back at her relationship with her husband, Richard, who passed away from cancer.
Dr. Jamison has published over 100 articles in academic journals. She has shared her expertise on various television programs, including Charlie Rose, and was one of five people featured in the PBS series, Great Minds of Medicine.
Audiences describe her lectures as profound educational experiences. She addresses the clinical and personal realities of depression and bipolar disorder in a manner that encourages dialogue, empathy and hope.
A recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, Dr. Jamison is currently the Dalio Family Professor in Mood Disorders, a Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and also co-director of the Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Center. She is an honorary professor of English at the University of St. Andrews in the U.K.
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“Nearly 1000 people attended Dr. Jamison's lecture, which provided such a sincere and intelligent discussion of such a pervasive issue. The audience was clearly engaged and enlightened.”
-Rollins College