“Career success and awards aside, I had found that the real purpose for me on earth is teaching young actors and sharing my story about mental health with others — and using the voice I’d discovered to erase the stigma.”
My favorite celebrity memoirs are those that are honest and heartfelt, that show a side of the individual not always seen in the spotlight. Maurice Benard does just that with his new book, Nothing General About It: How Love (and Lithium) Saved Me On and Off General Hospital. Although he has publicly been a mental health advocate for years, receiving many awards and much recognition for his work, this book captures in writing his experiences growing up, coming to terms with his diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and all the while maintaining a successful acting career. I mean, who doesn’t know Sonny on General Hospital, whether you are a devoted fan of soap operas or not?!
There is a real honesty in this memoir. From detailed descriptions of not just anxiety and depression, but also hallucinations and delusions — the kind of mental health symptoms we still don’t see discussed publicly very often — to the bright parts of his life, such as faith and love for his family, Benard does not hold anything back. He starts at the very beginning with his childhood and difficulties in his family life growing up. He also pays tribute to his closest friends, many of whom he lost too soon. As referenced in the book’s subtitle, Nothing General About It is as much a tribute to his wife, the powerful influence she’s had in his life and his love for her, as it is his own story. And fans of General Hospital will be pleased to see that there is plenty of discussion about Benard’s experiences playing the iconic character of Sonny Corinthos, while he also discusses how the parallels between his life and that of Sonny have been both a blessing and a curse over the years.
There are so many lessons to be gleaned from the way Benard discusses living with bipolar disorder in this book. Looking back, he is able to connect that many of his behaviors and symptoms in his younger years make a lot more sense now in the context of his diagnosis. He also conveys the relief of finally getting an actual diagnosis and therefore knowing there was a treatment, that he could feel better! He relays the difficulties of first beginning to speak up about his mental health issues many years ago, not only as an actor in the public eye but also as a Latino man, due to the cultural expectations for what each of these roles are “supposed” to mean. Although this mental health stigma has decreased somewhat over time, it continues to be an issue near to Benard’s heart and one that he continues to speak up about. As indicated by the subtitle of the book, he discusses going back and forth, on and off medications as well as in and out of therapy, and how he finally decided to stick with it because he was tired of how he felt. (It is worth nothing that Benard has now been on Lithium for 27 years consecutively, with no significant “breakdowns” as he calls them!) There is even a list in the back of the book to help connect individuals with resources they may need to obtain help for their own mental health issues.
This memoir reads with an authentic tone and voice. From beginning to end, Benard takes an objective look back at his life and stresses the importance of mental health awareness and care. Readers are sure to walk away from this one learning a lot! Many thanks to William Morrow for the finished copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own. Nothing General About It is available now!
Nothing General About It is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
Maurice Benard, the longtime star of ABC soap opera General Hospital, is a two-time Emmy Award–winning film and television actor, a member of the prestigious Actors Studio, and an advocate for mental health awareness. He lives in California with his wife, Paula, with whom he proudly raised three daughters and a son—who is already following in his father’s footsteps as an actor.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
The Emmy Award-winning star of General Hospital chronicles his astonishing and emotional life journey in this powerful memoir—an inspiring story of success, show business, and family, and his struggle with mental illness.
Maurice Benard has been blessed with family, fame, and a successful career. For twenty-five years, he has played one of the most well-known characters on daytime television: General Hospital’s Michael “Sonny” Corinthos, Jr. In his life outside the screen, he is a loving husband and the father of four. But his path has not been without hardship. When he was only twenty, Maurice was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
In Nothing General About It, Maurice looks back to his youth in a small town and his tenuous relationship with his father. He describes how his bipolar disorder began to surface in childhood, how he struggled to understand the jolting mood swings he experienced, and how a doctor finally saved his life. For years Maurice was relentless in his goal to be a successful actor. But even after he “made it,” he still grappled with terrifying lows, breakdowns, and setbacks, all while trying desperately to maintain his relationship with his wife, who endured his violent, unpredictable episodes. Maurice holds nothing back as he bravely talks about what it was like to be medicated and institutionalized, and of how he learned to manage his manic episodes while on the set of GH.
Nothing General About It is also an incredible love story about an enduring marriage that demonstrates what those vows—for better, for worse, in sickness and in health—truly mean. Maurice also pays tribute to the community that has been there for him through thick and thin, and ruminates on the importance of both inherited and created family.
A shocking, riveting, and utterly candid memoir of love, adversity, and ultimately hope, Nothing General About It offers insights and advice for everyone trying to cope with mental illness, and is a motivational story that offers lessons in perseverance—of the importance of believing in and fighting for yourself through the darkest times.
—-Although this mental health stigma has decreased somewhat over time, it continues to be an issue near to Benard’s heart
Perhaps one day he will rid both his heart and his mind of it.
Harold A Maio