October 23, 2009 — Kay Redfield Jamison, an author noted for her research and contributions to the field of mood disorders, particularly bipolar disorder, will speak Thursday at 1 p.m. in the University of Virginia's Newcomb Hall Theater.

Jamison, a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University, has just released a memoir, "Nothing Was the Same." It comes after such highly regarded works as "An Unquiet Mind" and "Exuberance."

"Nothing Was the Same" tells of her finding love, taking the vows of marriage and facing the pain that follows goodbye. It describes the complexity of grief in the contexts of being hopelessly in love and having bipolar disorder.

Jamison co-authored "Manic-Depressive Illness: Bipolar Disorders and Recurrent Depression," which has become one of the leading texts on the subject.

In "An Unquiet Mind," Jamison told of her own battle with bipolar disorder and how she came to cope with the challenges it brings.

U.Va. alumnus Chadrick Lane, a research fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health, began corresponding with Jamison following his own diagnosis of bipolar disorder. After a suicide attempt and hospitalization, Lane turned to Jamison's books as a way to understand what was happening to his mind.

Lane worked with U.Va.'s Counseling and Psychological Services and the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences to bring Jamison to Charlottesville.

A book signing will follow Thursday's talk.