Rough Magic: Living with Borderline Personality Disorder by Miranda Newman is an unflinching account of a young woman’s battle with what is perhaps the most stigmatized mental illness in the Western world. Bright, charismatic, and temperamental, Newman gives readers what appears to be an honest look into what her life has been like before, during, and after recovery from borderline personality disorder. Her recollections of the horrific trauma of her early years are difficult to read, and I must warn anyone who also has a mental illness or a traumatic past to be aware of potential triggers. I was struck by how much I learned about borderline personality disorder (BPD) from this book, as Newman took pains to cite reputable sources extensively in teaching readers about the disorder as she tells her own story. Overall, this was a truly unforgettable read which I would recommend to nearly anyone. My thanks to Penguin Random House Canada and to NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Raw, honest, brave and complex. Intimate, without being too vulnerable or overwhelming. A wholly welcome and exceedingly necessary window into the experience of living with Borderline Personality Disorder, (BPD), in Canada.

An eerie echo of my own life, with a few details changed, this book resonated with me strongly and I preordered a hardcopy.

Thanks to NetGalley, Authors and Publishers for access to the digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

Wow. Terrible. I was so excited about this book. A personal memoir about someone living with this disorder? I was thrilled to read someone else's story. Unfortunately, there is NOTHING engaging, inspiring, warm, or personable about the author. She is wholly unlikeable as a person. Her writing is extremely clunky, undigestible, and hard to follow. I should have quit the book much earlier, but because I had such high hopes to learn someone else's experience with this disorder, I pushed through. Mistake. It took me 5 times as long to finish this book than what it usually takes me.

She cites absolutely generic, nothing, nameless sources for her "research". There is no index or citation list to acknowledge the actual names, professionals, studies, books, etc. she is referencing. Here's an example:

"“My experience aligns with a 2021 review of friendships among adolescents with BPD. The authors found that interpersonal relationships were typically…”


WHAT REVIEW? What study?? Who did it? Where? Where can it referenced or looked up? This is not a 1 or 2 time occurrence. It is repeated constantly through the entire book. I can't say enough about what a failure this book is. I will never read anything by this author again.