Short Synopsis
From the internationally acclaimed author of An Unquiet Mind comes a haunting meditation on mortality, grief, and loss.

Full Synopsis
Perhaps no one but Kay Redfield Jamison—who combines the acute perceptions of a psychologist with writerly elegance and passion—could bring such a delicate touch to the subject of losing a spouse to cancer. In spare and at times strikingly lyrical prose, Jamison looks back at her relationship with her husband, Richard Wyatt, a renowned scientist who battled severe dyslexia to become one of the foremost experts on schizophrenia. And with characteristic honesty, she describes his slow surrender to cancer, her own struggle with overpowering grief, and her efforts to distinguish grief from depression.

Jamison also recalls the joy that Richard brought her during the nearly twenty years they had together. Wryly humorous anecdotes mingle with bittersweet memories of a relationship that was passionate and loving—if troubled on occasion by her manic depression—as Jamison reveals the ways in which Richard taught her to live fully through his courage and grace.

A penetrating study of grief viewed from deep inside the experience itself, Nothing Was the Same is also a deeply moving memoir by a superb writer.

"Raudman's narration is full of wistfulness as she delivers Jamison's memoir recounting the illness and death of her husband." ---AudioFile

"One thing that makes this book especially compelling is its quiet matter-of-factness in the face of personal catastrophe.... The overall tone of [Jaminson's] recounting is even, spare and thoughtfully analytical." ---The Washington Post

"In this slim, intense memoir Jamison shows us that mourning leads us back to life." ---The New York Times

"A soul-baring love letter to the author's loving life partner." ---Kirkus

"The great gift Jamison offers here, beyond her honesty and the beauty of her writing, is perspective: a clear-eyed view of illness and death, sanity and insanity, love and grief." ---Los Angeles Times