Nothing General About It: How Love (and Lithium) Saved Me On and Off General Hospital

by Maurice Benard, Susan Black

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062973405
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/19/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	248
Sales rank:	272,732
File size:	41 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Maurice Benard, the longtime star of ABC soap opera General Hospital, is a two-time Emmy Award–winning film and television actor, a member of the prestigious Actors Studio, and an advocate for mental health awareness. He lives in California with his wife, Paula, with whom he proudly raised three daughters and a son—who is already following in his father’s footsteps as an actor.

Table of Contents

Prologue 1

Chapter 1 Cruisin' 5

Chapter 2 Livin' on a Prayer 29

Chapter 3 Highway to Hell 37

Chapter 4 Doctor My Eyes 51

Chapter 5 Free Fallin' 56

Chapter 6 God Part II 69

Chapter 7 Welcome to the Jungle 87

Chapter 8 Man in the Mirror 99

Chapter 9 Sweet Child o' Mine 110

Chapter 10 Isn't She Lovely 123

Chapter 11 Beautiful Boy 142

Chapter 12 Tears in Heaven 168

Chapter 13 Celluloid Heroes 182

Chapter 14 God Only Knows 194

Chapter 15 The Godfather Waltz 207

Chapter 16 The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades 223

Chapter 17 Accentuate the Positive 232

Acknowledgments 237

About the Authors 243

Where to Go for Help 245

Editorial Reviews

"An intriguing read for soap fans and an uplifting read for anyone struggling with mental illness." — Booklist

"Benard’s honest work is realistic yet inspiring. Soap opera fans will relish the behind-the-scenes insight, but overall this will resonate with anyone attempting to overcome life’s hurdles." — Library Journal

"A man I’m proud to call my friend is owed a debt of gratitude for taking us inside the roller-coaster ride that has been his life, shining a light on mental illness and how he rose to heights from that abyss. More importantly, he reminds us of how no struggle is too great to overcome—if you value life, love and all the challenges that come with them. This book is a must-read. Impossible to want to put down." — Stephen A. Smith, ESPN

"This is a heartfelt, inspiring, and brutally honest look in the mirror chronicling his experience with mental illness, finally finding the right diagnosis, and learning how to live with it." — Dr. Drew Pinsky

"In this gripping and extremely informative memoir, Maurice Benard exposes his candid fight with bipolar disorder and years of suffering while achieving phenomenal, award-winning success as an actor. His book will hit home with so many readers as Benard offers tremendous hope." — Victoria Gotti, New York Times bestselling author 

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

"Maurice and Susan's Nothing General About It is gut-wrenching. It's an honest look at one man’s private pain and an unconventional and inspiring love story."
— Al Ruddy, two-time Academy Award–winning producer of The Godfather

"I’m so proud of Maurice for having the courage to put his story forward—now it’s up to all of us to learn from it and use it to expand awareness around mental health." — Kurt Bardella, USA Today & NBC News THINK contributor

"A beautifully written tour de force, this book offers genuine hope to those affected by mental illness." — Dyane Harwood,  author of Birth of a New Brain: Healing from Postpartum Bipolar Disorder 

From the Publisher

"Maurice and Susan's Nothing General About It is gut-wrenching. It's an honest look at one man’s private pain and an unconventional and inspiring love story."

Al Ruddy

"An intriguing read for soap fans and an uplifting read for anyone struggling with mental illness."

Booklist

"This is a heartfelt, inspiring, and brutally honest look in the mirror chronicling his experience with mental illness, finally finding the right diagnosis, and learning how to live with it."

Dr. Drew Pinsky

"I’m so proud of Maurice for having the courage to put his story forward—now it’s up to all of us to learn from it and use it to expand awareness around mental health."

Kurt Bardella

"A beautifully written tour de force, this book offers genuine hope to those affected by mental illness."

Dyane Harwood

"This shocking true story is General Hospital on anabolic steroids."

Mehmet Oz

"A man I’m proud to call my friend is owed a debt of gratitude for taking us inside the roller-coaster ride that has been his life, shining a light on mental illness and how he rose to heights from that abyss. More importantly, he reminds us of how no struggle is too great to overcome—if you value life, love and all the challenges that come with them. This book is a must-read. Impossible to want to put down."

Stephen A. Smith

"In this gripping and extremely informative memoir, Maurice Benard exposes his candid fight with bipolar disorder and years of suffering while achieving phenomenal, award-winning success as an actor. His book will hit home with so many readers as Benard offers tremendous hope."

Victoria Gotti

"An intriguing read for soap fans and an uplifting read for anyone struggling with mental illness."

Booklist

03/01/2020

At 22, Benard was in a psychiatric ward coping with delusions, hallucinations, and uncontrolled aggression, but just two years later, he made his soap opera debut on All My Children. In this debut memoir, coauthored by screenwriter Black, the actor revisits his troubled childhood, where youthful indiscretions and physical abuse from his father escalated as his mental illness went untreated, leading to his institutionalization. As the subtitle suggests, being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and receiving treatment, coupled with support from friends and family, transformed his life. Since then he's portrayed Desi Arnaz and John Gotti, though he's best known as General Hospital's Sonny Corinthos, a role he's played for more than 25 years. Despite his on-screen success, Benard exhibits more pride in his work as a spokesperson for bipolar awareness. His depiction of the disorder is unflinching—an incident where he threatened to kill his then-pregnant wife, Paula, is especially harrowing. Benard's struggles with mental illness have been incorporated into the show, and he reveals how some of his favorite story lines have also been the most triggering. VERDICT Benard's honest work is realistic yet inspiring. Soap opera fans will relish the behind-the-scenes insight, but overall this will resonate with anyone attempting to overcome life's hurdles. [See Prepub Alert, 9/30/19.]—Terry Bosky, Madison, WI

Library Journal