Defective Paperback – April 24, 2014

When I read the synopsis and realized the book was about bipolar disorder, I just had to read it. My oldest son is bipolar. We did not get a diagnosis until he was in his 30's. It has been a rough road for all of us since none of the meds he has been on have worked long-term. Maggie's story touched me because my son has a 7 year old daughter and I find myself evaluating her behavior for signs of my son in her. So far she is very different from him and I pray she escapes his disease. This is a well written book and worth reading even if you don't know anyone with bipolar disorder . Bipolar people are not defective.

Until I read Defective, I didn't know what I didn't know. Like anyone else, I know people who have a diagnosis of bi-polar order but I somehow assumed that they should just take their medication and get on with life. Reading Defective put me straight on that issue and helped me to understand what it really means to live with this disorder. Maggie blames herself for her feelings and their effect on other people, until she is given a diagnosis and a way of coping. When she understands what is happening to her she is able to look at the rest of her family and see the damage this disease has caused over generations. For me, Defective was an engrossing read and a chance to reconsider my relationship with people I had tended to dismiss as "not good company." For a person who can find themselves in Maggie, I think the book would be a lifesaver. Given the subject matter this could be a depressing book, but it isn't. It moves along at a good pace, peopled by real well-written characters, a touch of romance, and sprinkling of humor. Try it, you'll like it.

As a mother of a grown son with bipolar, I found this story very insightful. The characters were well developed and the story flowed nicely. You feel Maggie's struggles, cheer her on to work through her issues, love Aunt Rose and grudgingly respect Aunt Mildred, tell Sam and Justin to go jump in a lake and in the end ---you'll meet Maggie, who now knows herself.

While not everyone can relate to the issues of the story's protagonist directly, I bet everyone can indeed relate to at least some of the subplots covered. This book has two very distinct halves: one that is a serious, almost heavy background story and build up and one that is a story of ordinary life full of school, family, relationship and friendship drama that all young women can connect to at least in some ways. The lesson, the moral of the story is clear and yet it is not preachy. It is just the sort that will stick to your mind and may be, just may be you will be able to share it with someone for whom it will make a lifetime of difference.

This book tackles the reality of mental illness with a depth and understanding that left me with a greater compassion of those who face this obstacle. Maggie faces the challenges that most 20-somethings face - love and career - but she must tackle all of her young adult challenges with a "loud, noisy brain" and the devastating diagnosis of Biopolar 2. I learned so much through reading this book, but also, was swept away by Maggie's quest for love and a "normal" life. Like all of us, as we age, we uncover not only more about ourselves, but learn more about all the hidden layers of our family and ancestors. I completely enjoyed this book and hope to see more from Sofayov!

Maggie loves Sam and he finally moves out and breaks their engagement because he can not be subjected to her mood swings. She encounters a former summer fling who is a doctor and a therapist and psychiatrist who help to solve her problem. It runs in the family unfortunately.

Defective is a brilliantly written, vividly descriptive, and painfully honest look at mental illness from the first person point of view. One particular exchange involving main character, Maggie, really touched my heart:“We were really young. I don’t think either of us could have comprehended mental illness.”“You’re right . . . but what I did understand was the pain I saw in your eyes. Maggie, you cried from your soul.” It gives me chills again as I type the words.Fortunately, Mrs. Sofayov sprinkles just enough humor throughout the novel to prevent it from being too emotionally taxing for the reader. I especially liked the humor in the “About the Author” section.“Susan Safayov lives in scenic, tropical Pittsburgh, PA . . . ” Scenic? Okay I’ll buy that. Tropical? Pittsburgh – tropical? Now that’s just crazy.

This book helped me to realize that others with bipolar two, like myself, have encountered many of the same challenges in life due to the illness. I cried, I laughed, I sobbed and I accepted that who I am and my story is beautiful. THANK YOU for this book!

As i suffer from Bipolor 2 myself i was curious to see how this book would be written. A lot of books which include mental health issues rarely get the symptoms right and alot of the time they focus on other mental illnesses. So it was great to see that a story with Bipolor was portrayed like this. People dont understand the struggles we go through everyday and it is hard to explain what goes through out heads and how we feel during each episode, and this author has managed to do both of those. It was beautifully written and portrayed the stuggles surprisingly well. A lot of people are misdiagnosed as i was for a few years before being diagnosed with bipolor so this book is amazing to show each and every step of the way, and the fight people have to go through to try and get to the 'normal' stage.

If you are bipolar please read this book