Nothing General About It

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

By: Maurice Benard

Narrated by: Maurice Benard

""This shocking true story is General Hospital on anabolic steroids."" — Mehmet Oz, M.D., Emmy Award-winning host of The Dr. Oz Show

The Emmy Award-winning star of General Hospital chronicles his astonishing and emotional life journey in this powerful memoir—an inspiring story of success, show business, and family, and his struggle with mental illness.

Maurice Benard has been blessed with family, fame, and a successful career. For twenty-five years, he has played one of the most well-known characters on daytime television: General Hospital’s Michael “Sonny” Corinthos, Jr. In his life outside the screen, he is a loving husband and the father of four. But his path has not been without hardship. When he was only twenty, Maurice was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

In Nothing General About It, Maurice looks back to his youth in a small town and his tenuous relationship with his father. He describes how his bipolar disorder began to surface in childhood, how he struggled to understand the jolting mood swings he experienced, and how a doctor finally saved his life. For years Maurice was relentless in his goal to be a successful actor. But even after he “made it,” he still grappled with terrifying lows, breakdowns, and setbacks, all while trying desperately to maintain his relationship with his wife, who endured his violent, unpredictable episodes. Maurice holds nothing back as he bravely talks about what it was like to be medicated and institutionalized, and of how he learned to manage his manic episodes while on the set of GH.

Nothing General About It is also an incredible love story about an enduring marriage that demonstrates what those vows—for better, for worse, in sickness and in health—truly mean. Maurice also pays tribute to the community that has been there for him through thick and thin, and ruminates on the importance of both inherited and created family.

A shocking, riveting, and utterly candid memoir of love, adversity, and ultimately hope, Nothing General About It offers insights and advice for everyone trying to cope with mental illness, and is a motivational story that offers lessons in perseverance—of the importance of believing in and fighting for yourself through the darkest times.

Supplemental Enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Wow

You get an inside look to the amazing man Maurice Bernard is. He is not just the amazing sonny Corinthians he is a dedicated advocate for mental illness. It is a must for GH fans. I have listen to it twice. His wife Paula is the biggest hero of all

Great book

Love the book! You are amazing it takes great courage to do what you are doing. Your wife is also an amazing woman

Beautiful, honest, incredible, humble.

I absolutely loved this book. Maurice gives us a piece of himself in every chapter. He is bold and honest and I love how you hear the emotion in his voice when he talks about his life and everything and everyone who got him to where he is today. He is so candid about his bipolar diagnosis and his willingness to educate others on mental illness is heartwarming. I also felt like parts of this were a love letter to his wonderful wife who he praises for her strength and ability to help get him through some very dark times. I don’t know what it is like to be in his shoes but he made me understand. I applaud Maurice for having the courage to put his story out there for others learn from. There is help for mental illness, there is light in the darkness. Thank you Maurice.

Amazing

Amazing from beginning to end! As a parent of an adult child that suffers from depression and anxiety this really hit home.

Very authentic

I love Maurice Benard, so maybe I’m a little biased. I thought this audio book was very sincere, authentic, heartfelt, and touching. Maurice bared his heart and soul and for that I am thankful. Bravo Mr. Benard! 👏🏼