Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me

Who it's for

Forney draws her own bipolar disorder diagnosis just before turning 30 and her fear that treatment would dull the art that defined her.

Feelings it meets

• Living With Mental Illness
• Anxiety
• Self-Worth
• Identity
• Depression

What it is

Ellen Forney's 2012 graphic memoir recounts her bipolar disorder diagnosis shortly before she turned thirty, while she was manic, and her fear that medication would cost her the creativity central to her work as an artist.

Where to find it

In print (Gotham/Avery), available through libraries (Libby/Hoopla e-book). Not public domain.

Before you start

Heads up: Suicidal thoughts and manic risk-taking.

Age: Ages 16+

I felt a funeral in my brain, And mourners, to and fro, Kept treading, treading, till it seemed That sense was breaking through.Emily Dickinson, Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series