As a person with manic depression, I can identify with some of the things Kate Millett had to say. However, I found her attitude about mental illness rather annoying. In this book, it is clear that she finds a diagnosis of manic depression infuriating and shameful. She finds lithium, a drug that has saved countless lives, to be nothing short of political oppression. She ends by saying that the illness does not really exist.
I cut Millett some slack because the book was written in the 80s and our society had not yet crossed over from Freudian thinking into brain science (we are still making that journey). I'm wondering if she has changed her mind at all in the years since the publication of the book. I, myself, am not ashamed or infuriated by my diagnosis in the way Millett was. I insist on my right to proper treatment, where she felt wronged by the notion of treatment at all.
While I did not agree with most of what Millett had to say, this book is captivating. She is clearly a brilliant woman and a fantastic writer.