Description

A vivid, honest and sometimes disturbing memoir about the experience of having a diagnosis of manic-depression. It was in two stages (not using a diary that i collected as it says in the Mind Press Release 2002. After i read Prozac Nation in 1998 i wrote two pages. Knowing i had something amazing to say i was paralysed for two years with the thought of writing it. Then when i was given my own flat in Vauxhall after my last hospitalisation in St Thomas's Hospital in 2000 i wrote every day for about 12-16 weeks and got it all of my chast. From that moment i felt that i had written the book that had saved the Ecstacy generation although it turned into a mental health crusade to give other people a voice. Like other books in this genre, the author is often painfully honest about his experiences. He recounts a dizzying, dark and sometimes euphoric journey through a world of elation, despair, binge drinking, drugs, raves and psychiatric wards. As well as attempting to educate the reader, the book also provides optimism and hope, showing that it is finally possible to learn to live with, and accept, having a mental health problem.

When I was nine years old, I loved sport and was captivated by watching the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. I swore to myself that, one day, I would do that race and win it. That was in 1984. For the next twenty-eight years I continued to love participating in and watching sport, although I do not recall thinking about the phrase 'Ironman' ever again, apart from about the superhero played by Robert Downey Jnr in the film. In July 2012, I was to rekindle my passion for Ironman racing. This book describes my journey from complete novice to Ironman finisher in 11 months. My promise to you, the inspiring reader, is to give you my all, be honest and not take myself too seriously. Training for and completing my first Ironman made me a better person, a better partner, a better father, a better business owner and improved my health. This is because it made me think bigger and raised my self-esteem. You may be a multiple Ironman, a professional Ironman athlete (in my dreams, hey?), a coach or a triathlete; you may have a swimming, cycling or running background and be considering taking up the sport, or just have an insane desire to complete the ultimate one-day endurance sporting event that was designed to test the human potential to its limit. Believe me, it's not easy, but when you cross that finish line there is no feeling quite like it.

When I was nine years old, I loved sport and was captivated by watching the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. I swore to myself that, one day, I would do that race and win it. That was in 1984. For the next twenty-eight years I continued to love participating in and watching sport, although I do not recall thinking about the phrase 'Ironman' ever again, apart from about the superhero played by Robert Downey Jnr in the film. In July 2012, I was to rekindle my passion for Ironman racing. This book describes my journey from complete novice to Ironman finisher in 11 months. My promise to you, the inspiring reader, is to give you my all, be honest and not take myself too seriously. Training for and completing my first Ironman made me a better person, a better partner, a better father, a better business owner and improved my health. This is because it made me think bigger and raised my self-esteem. You may be a multiple Ironman, a professional Ironman athlete (in my dreams, hey?), a coach or a triathlete; you may have a swimming, cycling or running background and be considering taking up the sport, or just have an insane desire to complete the ultimate one-day endurance sporting event that was designed to test the human potential to its limit. Believe me, it's not easy, but when you cross that finish line there is no feeling quite like it.

Description

Amongst Jason's rap and hip hop influences are Ice T, NWA, De La Soul, PM Dawn, Eminem, Dr Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Ice Cube, Naughty By Nature, Sugar Hill Gang, 2 Pac, Notorious Big. Jason sees rap and hip hop as a potential force for social good.

About the Author

Jason Pegler is known internationally for his work as a social entrepreneur. He was born in 1975. He was diagnosed with manic depression in 1992. This is his sixth book. He is the author of 'A Can of Madness', 'Curing Madness', 'The Ultimate Guide To Well Being' and 'Mental Health Publishing and Empowerment'. His first three books can be bought together in the trilogy Bipolar, Recovery and NLP. Jason is the CEO of Chipmunkapublishing and Co-Founder of The Chipmunka Foundation. He dedicates his life to empowering people with mental health issues so that they can fulfill their potential and help others.

Book Extract

"Why a rap book?

I have always been inspired by music and rap has always been one of my favourite genre's. When I first heard NWA in 1988 I started to love rap. I liked the testerone pumped music and the wordplay and also the powerful messages you can convey in raps just as you can in stories.

The creativity and word play made me write one or two raps straight away and always made me interested in the music. I wrote a lot of poems/raps in 1992 when I was seventeen. A couple of thousand actually but through them all away when I was manic.

Description

Mental Health Publishing and Empowerment is a book that explains how writing and publishing is a cathartic and empowering experience for Jason and Chipmunkapublishing authors. This book contains Jason's views on writing and empowerment as well as the views and experiences of over 20 Chipmunkapublishing authors. Each authors comments are analysed by Jason to show how they reflect the Mental Health Publishing and Empowerment process that Chipmunka offers. This book is an academic work that reveals how Chipmunka is effective as a social enterprise.

About the Author

Jason Pegler is known internationally for his work as a social entrepreneur. He was born in 1975. He was diagnosed with manic depression in 1992. This is his fifth book. He is the author of 'A Can of Madness', 'Curing Madness' and 'The Ultimate Guide To Well Being'. His first three books can be bought together in the trilogy Bipolar, Recovery and NLP.

Jason is the CEO of Chipmunkapublishing and Co-Founder of The Chipmunka Foundation. He dedicates his life to empowering people with mental health issues so that they can fulfill their potential and help others.

Book Extract

"For years now I have been asking myself the same question? How can I cure the world of mental illness? I don't know how exactly but there is this manic impulse within me wanting it to happen. I used to think that if I could not help everyone who contacted me then it was my fault. I had failed somehow. This is not the case. It is not realistic to be able to help everyone. It took me five years of publishing to realise this.

The objective of this book is to show how Chipmunkapublishing helps people, so what better way to have words from me As CEO trying to sanitise my own manic utopian vision and then include 500 words from over 20 authors about how writing and publishing has helped them.

I know that wanting to help others is somehow a cathartic process and justifies my own label and coming to terms with being labelled a manic depressive for the rest of my life. I knew that I wanted to help people as soon as I realised my own madness six weeks into a six month stretch of my first manic episode at the age of 17 in 1992.

My utopian and manic vision to want to eliminate the world from mental illness actually turned into my day job as CEO of Chipmunkapublishing. Little did I know how much work there was to do... It was a good job I met Andrew Latchford who was equally as determined as myself to somehow make a different and improve people's lives. I know somehow that my task is impossible but I wouldn't be challenging myself or doing other people justice if I did not aim to have a positive impact on the highest number of people.

Chipmunkapublishing has a system that works for many people. In our own small way we are making a positive impact in the lives of many of our authors, their families and many of our readers.

We will continue to grow and inspire others through our work by trying and develop our organisation so it is more transparent, more professional and more effective as technology advances, the publishing industry changes and people's requirements evolve.

Description: A Can of Madness

A Can of Madness is the most honest autobiography ever written on manic depression and the pioneering patient's memoir of its generation. A vivid, honest and sometimes disturbing memoir about the experience of having a diagnosis of manic-depression. Like other books in this genre, the author is often painfully honest about his experiences. He recounts a dizzying, dark and sometimes euphoric journey through a world of elation, despair, binge drinking, drugs, raves and psychiatric wards. As well as attempting to educate the reader, the book also provides optimism and hope, showing that it is finally possible to learn to live with, and accept, having a mental health problem. A Can of Madness also shows that if you have bipolar you can still lead a fulfilled life.

Description: Curing Madness

Curing Madness is an inspirational selection of works by former manic depressive and mental health activist Jason Pegler which details the thought processes he used to cure himself. It includes a couple of excellent scripts about his experiences of manic depression, rap lyrics, an essay that examines madness in Greek Mythology and a personal account of what happened to him after he published his seminal book 'A Can of Madness'. Jason describes how he managed to become medication free and lead a full recovery from bipolar. It also includes an incantation of positivity which is as an example of the way that Jason Pegler used Neuro Linguistic Programming to cure himself and empower people with 'mental illness' around the globe.

Description: 'The Ultimate Guide to Well Being'

'The Ultimate Guide to Well Being' is Jason Pegler's third book. The goal of the book is to achieve 100% ultimate well being by going through the tasks and exercises included and to have fun whilst doing it. Jason reveals the benefits of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, social entrepreneurship and harnessing creativity to the general public and people affected by mental health issues. Topics discussed in the book include; having a healthy mind, body and soul; knowing what is crucial to your happiness; inspiring yourself and having time for other people; how you can make the world a better place; connecting spiritually and making the impossible possible. Read this book and pass on the techniques to save and improve lives. 'The Ultimate Guide To Well Being' is the first recognised self help and NLP based book written by an author who has written an autobiography on manic depression. Jason Pegler is the leading 'mental health service user' of his generation and the world's first mental health celebrity. The tools that Jason has used to cure himself can cure you and people you know too.

About the Author

Jason Pegler is known internationally for his work as a social entrepreneur. He is 31 years of age and lives in London. He is the author of 'A Can of Madness', 'Curing Madness' and 'The Ultimate Guide To Well Being'. He is also the CEO of Chipmunkapublishing and Co-Founder of The Chipmunka Foundation. He dedicates his life to empowering people with mental health issues so that they can fulfill their potential and help others. He is also a rap artist, motivational speaker and mental health activist.

Product Description A Can of Madness does what it says in the er can. A brilliant memoir of mania; all the pain, humour, fear and despair is chronicled here in prose of clarity and distinction. Unforgettable and important" - Stephen Fry This book will help people to understand one of the greatest issues of our time, how to treat those who are mentally disturbed, as human beings Rt. Hon. Tony Benn MP The author has done all of us a service by writing about how it feels, not just to be manic depressive, but to have a life of fraught and edgy encounters with just about everyone The Times Literary Supplement Description A vivid, honest and sometimes disturbing memoir about the experience of having a diagnosis of manic-depression. It was in two stages (not using a diary that i collected as it says in the Mind Press Release 2002. After i read Prozac Nation in 1998 i wrote two pages. Knowing i had something amazing to say i was paralysed for two years with the thought of writing it. Then when i was given my own flat in Vauxhall after my last hospitalisation in St Thomas's Hospital in 2000 i wrote every day for about 12-16 weeks and got it all of my chast. From that moment i felt that i had written the book that had saved the Ecstasy generation although it turned into a mental health crusade to give other people a voice. Like other books in this genre, the author is often painfully honest about his experiences. He recounts a dizzying, dark and sometimes euphoric journey through a world of elation, despair, binge drinking, drugs, raves and psychiatric wards. As well as attempting to educate the reader, the book also provides optimism and hope, showing that it is finally possible to learn to live with, and accept, having a mental health problem. Writing A Can of Madness saved my life and alot of other people have told me that it has helped their lives. About the Author Jason Pegler is 33 and lives in London. Jason was diagnosed with manic depression in 1993 and wrote 'A Can of Madness' to stop other seventeen year olds going through what he went through. Graduating from Manchester University in 1998 he founded Chipmunkapublishing the mental health publisher which aims to help mental health sufferers. Pegler is a mental health activist, journalist, rapper, public speaker and consultant on anything that promotes a positive image on mental health. In 2005 Pegler won the New Statesman's Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He is a key figure in the mental health movement. Book Extract As I was being driven off in the back of a police van in a space suit, I thought I was Donovan Bad Boy Smith being driven to a rave. I could hear music in my head and flashed back to another night at The Brunel Rooms in Swindon. The Brunel Rooms, a hard-core Mecca for druggies from Gloucester and surrounding areas in the early to mid nineties. Donovan was so hardcore when I saw him there that he'd refused to turn off his set at 3. He'd carried on until 3.30 when someone finally turned off the electricity mid flow. Talking of flows (as opposed to stable mindsets), just how the fuck do you live with a mental illness? Don't ask me, I'm still trying to find out now. After all, it's not something you plan, let alone something you'd ever expect to have. As we all say: it won't happen to me. But it can. And in this case, it did. And if Hercules and Ajax couldn't hack it, how the hell could I? Unsurprisingly, I didn't - and that's why I wallowed in self-pity for so long. So, do you want to know what it's like to be crazy, mad, loopy? Well I'm about to tell you. I'm also going to tell you how it feels to be suicidal for months on end - the fate of the manic. One thing, however, is for sure: The sooner you kill mania the better. For you're a danger to yourself and other people when you don't know what you're doing.