Nothing General About It

How Love (and Lithium) Saved Me On and Off General Hospital

Maurice Benard, Susan Black

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN:
  9780062973399
• eBook ISBN:
  9780062973405
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Artist Biographies
• Index: Social Sciences

The General Hospital star recounts his emotional journey in this instant bestseller, a story of success, show business, family, and mental health.
New York Times–bestselling author and Emmy Award–winning actor Maurice Benard is best known for his twenty-five years of playing Michael "Sonny" Corinthos, Jr., on ABC's hit daytime television show General Hospital. The rakish mobster is beloved and feared, perhaps in equal measure, but what many viewers don't know is that for decades, Benard lived in true fear of a much greater threat: himself.
In Nothing General About It, Benard relays the challenges of growing up in a small town with undiagnosed bipolar disorder, and his struggle to keep his demons at bay while pursuing a career as an actor. From childhood to the outset of his career—and while building his family—he was pushed to the very boundaries of despair, struggling with the stigma of having a mental illness he felt he couldn't share with the world. In his first memoir, Benard delves into the most challenging parts of his life, including his tenuous childhood relationship with his father, secretly managing manic episodes on the set of General Hospital, and fending off the terrifying setbacks he experienced when he went off his meds.
An advocate for mental health awareness, Benard now uses his platform to show all those who are struggling that there is light to be found. Nothing General About It is more than a story of adversity—it's a love story, a case study in perseverance and candor, and a reminder that bravery is achieved by embracing who you truly are.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Frontispiece
• Dedication
• Contents
• Prologue
• Chapter One / Cruisin’
• Chapter Two / Livin’ on a Prayer
• Chapter Three / Highway to Hell
• Chapter Four / Doctor My Eyes
• Chapter Five / Free Fallin’
• Chapter Six / God Part II
• Chapter Seven / Welcome to the Jungle
• Chapter Eight / Man in the Mirror
• Chapter Nine / Sweet Child o’ Mine
• Chapter Ten / Isn’t She Lovely
• Chapter Eleven / Beautiful Boy
• Chapter Twelve / Tears in Heaven
• Chapter Thirteen / Celluloid Heroes
• Chapter Fourteen / God Only Knows
• Chapter Fifteen / The Godfather Waltz
• Chapter Sixteen / The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades
• Chapter Seventeen / Accentuate the Positive
• Acknowledgments
• Photo Section
• About the Authors
• Where to Go for Help
• Copyright
• About the Publisher