As M's "better half" (<-- pretty debatable some days) I would highly recommend that book. It was an really intriguing read. We both read it (in a non-manic state) pretty quickly--each finishing the bulk of it in less than 3 days. As a person who does not have bipolar, I really appreciated the rhetoric used in the book. When she described a manic state I read that part quickly and found my heart almost racing as I finished it. It was incredibly intense. Obviously reading about it does not come close to actually experiencing it, but her language plus what M had told me gave me a better insight into what mania feels like.

(Caveat: the book brought out my hypochondriac tendencies very similarly to the way an abnormal psychology class might. reading it I found myself doing a lot of self-analysis.)

M read the book before I did so they could tell me whether or not the author's experiences were similar to their own. We thought it would be a bit counterproductive if I read about an experience that was entirely different than what M goes through. I have a desire to learn more about bipolar in general, but specifically in these beginning stages what to learn everything I can about M's specific bipolar experience.

As a person in a similar situation to the original poster, I suggest talking to your partner about their experience. People tend to have different flavors of mental illness and it's important to learn what those look like for your partner and how you can be the most supportive during them. I think coming to these forums is a fantastic idea... you are showing your partner that you care enough to educate yourself.