Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters

From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts. Become a member today

Author Arthur Hutt is soon to re-launch his autobiography ‘From Magic to Mania‘, which tells the story of a man suddenly diagnosed with bipolar disorder aged 30.

Originally from Sutton Courtenay, a small village in Oxfordshire and resting place of renowned author George Orwell, Mr Hutt has now lived in Wales for 34 years.

In his book, which was released in September 2021, the now 69-year-old recounts how different his life was before being unexpectedly diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Speaking to Caerphilly Observer, he said: “I was running a thriving recruitment business before this illness changed the course of my life.

“There’s a difference between mental health and mental illness. My mother suffered with paranoid schizophrenia and neither that or bipolar are openly discussed.

“My book looks to address both. How mental illness affected my life, both through myself and my mother.

“I offer no medical descriptions or coping mechanisms; I just try to accurately describe how it feels to have this illness.”

Mr Hutt, who now works for Careers Wales, went on to explain how he tries to use his illness to his advantage now that he is on medication, he explained how he wrote the entire book during one month in which his bipolar was particularly bad.

He continued: “I look at it as bipolar giving something back to me. I’m taking lithium now which helps control my mood, it keeps you slightly depressed which isn’t great, but the highs are never as bad.”

Mr Hutt has sold over 100 copies of his book, From Magic to Mania, but hopes to relaunch it in May, during Mental Health Awareness week.

His book can already be found in libraries across Caerphilly County Borough. A link to buy the book can also be found here.