Kevin Hines

This an outstanding story of a man who suffered from bipolar disorder, jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge and survived. It shares the experience he had, how this act and survival taught him momentous life lessons and gave him hope in his survival further.
I heard the author speak a few weeks ago at a Suicide Summit. Kevin's suicidal act, which he survive, launched him into a speaking career to help others with similar struggles.
Since he is only presently 40, I hope there will be a second book that outlines his further survival.… (más)

Review by FRC Staff, Jessica:

It's hard to resist the pull of this book, to pay to witness to the account of someone who had jumped off the Golden Gate bridge with an intention to end their life, only to live, cracked but not broken, fighting for sanity. The 25-story plunge into frigid waters is not the focal point of this book, but literally and metaphorically, it's a launching point. It would mark the first of many times that Kevin Hines would struggle living with bipolar disorder with psychotic features,

This book is a memoir, of sorts. Kevin outlines his upbringing, and how bipolar disorder and psychosis manifested throughout his life. He describes in detail what it's like to live with grandiose ideas fueled by mania, with suspicious paranoia of loved ones, or with frightening voices berating him and encouraging his death. The book does a good job of demonstrating how his family stepped up to support him, and how this has been crucial to his ongoing recovery. He describes lengths of time where he is well, and then what it's like when relapse and hospitalization reoccurs. Kevin paints a realistic if not somber picture of different situational hardships that come with mental illness: living in hospital, living in a group home, disputes with other residents, not being able to afford medication, being escorted by police, and waiting in fear for emergency psychiatric care.

I personally like how Kevin's personality radiates through in his writing. We see this image of a sensitive soul, perceiving so much around him, yet desiring to be firm and as strong as he can be through it all. We see someone that has self-awareness and a layer of optimism, able to find inspiration in the ordinary, believing in his greater mission.

Where this book falls short is that it leaves you a bit hungry for more. Perhaps it's because Kevin is still so young, we're yet to see how his illness and his mission as a suicide-prevention advocate will play out in his later years. All the best to him. This book will help readers appreciate what it's like to be suicidal due to psychosis, and it is likely to be more appealing to readers of his generation, aged 40 and under.… (más)

The autobiography of a severely bipolar young man -- one of the few who ever survived jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. He has turned his experiences into a mission to explain, and help others with mental illiness and, when well, lectures all around the world. Moderately interesting but repetitive, disjointed, with virtually no detail about his important relations with others who have ensured he has help (hospitalizations) with his frequent severe relapses. A good editor could have done lots of work with this.… (más)

I grabbed this book the week after Robin Williams killed himself. I have always been interested in writers who try to translate their own mental illness to readers. Kevin Hines does an excellent job here of sharing his horrifying story.

Hines jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge and survived, a member of a very elite club that no one ever wants to join. He credits a brief burst of regret that compelled him to move his body so as to land feet first instead of head first, as well as a sea lion preventing him from drowning. There was also a witness who had a contact at the Coast Guard and their response was very fast. His internal organs were nearly shredded by his shattered ribs and vertebrae.

After he recovers, Hines' bi-polar episodes do not end and he is not "reborn". Instead, he needs to bear with and to try to conquer his "brain illness", as he calls it. That enormous effort is even more inspiring than his survival in the icy waters of SF Bay.

His struggle continues and he is very, very blunt about how he becomes overwhelmed by manic voices trying to stop him from taking his meds and trying to persuade him that all humans have great interest harming him.

Hines now speaks before many groups in his effort to prevent suicide by helping friends and family to recognize signs and to get help for their ill loved one. If, like most of us, there is someone in your immediate circle who is living with brain illness, this is a valuable resource.

The writing is not perfect, but that is truly not the point. This is not literary fiction - it's a chronicle of a seemingly futile battle and the heroes who fight on.… (más)