Exuberance: The Passion for Life

For years Kay Redfield Jamison's book "Exuberance" was my absolute favorite nonfiction read. So much inside of me ~ my body, my thoughts, my aspirations ~ vibrated from the chord Kay had plucked! Now that I understand not only that I am autistic, discovered when I was 72, I also see what I believe are miss-takes in reasoning (statements and conclusions, even in countless studies) because the stories Ms. Jamison drew on come heavily weighted in neurotypical experience.

I've read "Exuberance" several times in the years since I purchased the book, but this time I've stopped halfway through. I'm wanting so much more of acknowledgments that while the conclusions drawn may well apply to the neurotypical majority, there is much more to be integrated/included from the atypical vantage, which will be as varied as the subjects consulted. I'm sorry I can't quote the various passages I came across as I've been reading this time. I imagine Ms. Jamison has learned more since 2004 when the book came out, perhaps even in just how many, especially girls and women, are mistakenly diagnosed as bipolar when actually they are simply among the very diverse autistic population who agonize trying to fit in, until they learn: Nothing 'wrong' just wired differently. 
Considering how much each of us have learned in the last 17 years about what makes people tick, I have kept my initially-felt 5*s, appreciating as I do the courage that it' took for Kay to research and write this and other of her works. I wish I could have the conversation that yes, I see your point, but have you thought of this and this and this from an autistic's view? I would absolutely read again, taking notes in prep for that.

This is a brilliant woman who has written another brilliant book. If you have come to the conclusion that I like this book you are right. First, even the idea to study exuberance took courage. The author has previously written about her own fierce battles with manic depression. She is a serious scientist that risked her reputation to expose that side of herself before and now she has written a book that explores emotions perilously close to the up side of her illness. Admitting that she admires the emotion, given her prior disclosure of manic depression, is fraught with special risk for Dr. Jamison. While the positive emotions are understudied, this provides an admitted manic depressive with little cover. Many a depressive has gone off of their medication because of the claimed attractiveness of the manic state. Dr, Jamison neatly traverses this difficult terrain by keeping her attention focused on others. Early in the book she concentrates her energy on President Theodore Roosevelt. Exuberance is probably the word most used to describe his personality, but still she probes deeper and uncovers insights that have eluded even gifted biographers of this fascinating man. If you are interested in what made TR tick you should read this book. If you have read Dr. Jamison before you expect such penetrating insights, but even though I have read all of her general works I was unprepared for the beauty of expression, both hers and of many quotations both shrewd and charming that adorn the text and advance her thought. One of each: "Joy lacks the gravitas that suffering so effortlessly commands." Jamison at 5; "The Greeks understood the mysterious power of the hidden side of things. They bequeathed to us one of the most beautiful words in our language - the word `enthusiasm' - en theos - a god within. The grandeur of human actions is measured by the inspiration from which they spring. Happy is he who hears a god within, and who obeys it." Louis Pasteur, same page. It is rare indeed to be reading a serious work and find yourself saying, "Wow." I will close this review of a serious work that has offered me insights into a favorite historical figure as well as my children by another quote only slightly changed: (Kay Jamison Jamison's book on exuberance recounts) "a magnificent obsession, plumb-line true and enduring." at 39. When you finish reading this wonderful book you will wonder as I did how it could have been researched and written as her beloved husband lay dying. Only a woman who realized to her core that life is a savage beauty could bear such witness to joy in the midst of such pain. Read this book.

The author gives a specific definition of "exuberance", and then ignores it. It takes a long read to figure out what she actually means by it, and the definition that seems to capture it best is "not deliberative". This book persuades largely by appealing to the emotions; the author is not a scientist studying a psychological phenomenon, but an apologist for a particular temperament. It seems fitting to regard this work as a bipolar person's manic aspect saying "call me exuberant, and think of me as everything good". I gave the author credit as a psychologist for as long as I could, but it was impossible to sustain after she, astonishingly, tried to get away with characterizing introversion as fear:`Extraversion, of all of the traits examined by psychologists to date, is the one most clearly and directly related to exuberance. [...] Extraverts are not only more likely than introverts to experience positive moods, they also feel a greater intensity in such moods. In responding to questionnaires, they tend to agree with items like “When I feel happy it is a strong kind of exuberance,” “When something good happens, I am usually much more jubilant than others,” and “When I’m happy I bubble over with energy.” Introverts do not. [...] Why are some so vital and others not? Why do some people gallop full throttle into adventure while others fall back, fearful, intent on avoiding misadventure? There are many reasons, but the most notable differences in temperament are rooted in genetics and in the architecture and chemistry of the brain.`Some more quotes:`Exuberance and joy are fragile matter. Bubbles burst; a wince of disapproval can cut dead a whistle or abort a cartwheel. The exuberant move above the horizon, exposed and vulnerable.``Champagne, in short, is exuberant. Human temperaments, like Champagnes, come in different degrees of effervescence. Some are grands mousseaux, fully sparkling, unstoppable, bubbling, and relentlessly high-spirited. Others are pétillants, only faintly sparkling. Most are crémants, somewhere in between. The grands mousseaux infect others with their liveliness and bring to life’s delights and setbacks a seemingly inexhaustible energy and resilience.``For those less exuberant or not at all, one globe may be more than enough, and bright colors, while pleasing, will not transport. We vary in our capacities for enthusiasm because a diversity of temperaments serves our collective good. We know intuitively that some will be quick and passionate in their responses, as we know that others, less urgently moved, will wait and be more deliberative. For each the world has space and reason.``Nature is self-evidently exuberant.``In our review of the medical and psychological literature on mania—an admittedly destructive state, but one that in its milder forms is often characterized by many advantageous qualities such as high energy, exuberance, increased sexual desire, and rapid, creative, and expansive thinking—we were stunned to see how disproportionately psychological research had focused on negative emotions and how slight was the mention of temperamental strengths.``The exuberant mind is also disinclined to detail, error prone, and vulnerable to seduction. All people, said Walter Bagehot, are most credulous when they are most happy; for someone who is exuberant, self-deception is just the next mountain over from credulousness. All seems possible, much seems essential, and unwarranted optimism feels fully warranted. Self-deception can then move, by conscious intent or not, into the deception of others. (“It is unfortunate, considering that enthusiasm moves the world,” said the Earl of Balfour, “that so few enthusiasts can be trusted to speak the truth.”)`It seems fitting to regard that last quote as the author's candid warning to the reader about her own psychology while writing the book, as well as a description of her target audience; this book was not written for the deliberative among us.

A beautiful book ,well written and a joy to read.

A very interesting book.

very good

The best book I've ever read.

Wenn ich voller Euphorie ein Buch zu lesen beginne und nach kurzer Zeit mich frage, wie viele Beispiele, Zitate und Meinungen ich noch aufs Auge gedrückt bekomme, dann hat das Buch einfach keinen Wert.Als hätte die Autorin nach jedem Strohhalm gegriffen, der in den Texten unbedeutender Dichter auf die Schönheit der Natur hinweist.Das Buch kann ganz wunderbar auf 10 Bulletpoints in kurzen Sätzen reduziert werden. Aber selbst dann wäre es unglaublich langweilig und Kay Redfield Jamison hätte dafür auf Facebook vielleicht 1 Like von sich selbst bekommen.Was hatte ich auch erwartet? Vielleicht etwas empirisches, irgend etwas psyeudowissenschaftliches, irgend eine Supur von Humor zumindest. Pustekuchen.The passion for Life? Ich glaube hier hatte Kay Redfield Jamison eher eine Passion zum Schwafeln.Ein Glück, dass ich das Buch für 1 Euro bekommen hatte. Mehr darf man für sowas wirklich nicht ausgeben.