Longlisted for the 2025 Katherine Mansfield Competition
What if honesty is all it takes to set you free?
The Integrity Cure
Get your dose in paperback, ebook and audio from Thorndon Press, October 2025
Order from your local bookshop now!
Follow the light
Inspired by the illumination of Bipolar Type II diagnosis at age 46, and the subsequent process of healing, Donelle McKinley’s memoir offers hope of clinical recovery from ‘incurable’ illness and lights the way for others.
In deft literary style, The Integrity Cure provides insights into a relatively common mental illness that flies under the radar of general awareness. It shares the personal experience of an unorthodox approach to therapy, which ultimately burrowed beneath bipolar as a symptom to expose and cure the root cause of suffering.
Across 30 stories that illustrate a pattern of flight and fresh starts, the author examines the role of home, place, cultural heritage and the arts in her efforts to hold fast to her foundations.
Capturing poignant moments of her life and travels, from Stratford-upon-Avon to the Shanghai Bund, from the heart of Turkey to earthquaked New Zealand and the ivory towers of Oxford, riding a rollercoaster of hypomania and depression to diagnosis and beyond, her memoir celebrates the power of the humanities to enrich our life and understand its complexity.
With different approaches to storytelling subtly applied to serve dissociation, reinvention, and reflection, stories explore themes of vocation, love, spirituality, integrity, and freedom.
Poetic, uplifting, and unflinchingly honest, The Integrity Cure honours the precious, the painful, and the extraordinary in half a life lived bipolar.
‘I know with absolute certainty that for me, mental illness has been the result of straying from the path of integrity paved with my values. I know it in my bones, and my stories are my proof. For 30 years, I had rewritten my code of conduct in response to the world around me, and my system had repeatedly malfunctioned. With my original settings restored, the challenge is to protect them with my life.’
The Integrity Cure
FAQs
What is Bipolar Type II?
Bipolar is a mental illness marked by extreme changes in mood, thought, energy, and behaviour. It is widely believed that bipolar is incurable despite its cause being unclear.
Bipolar Type II is less severe than Bipolar Type I. For 30 years I experienced Bipolar Type II as days or weeks of hypomania, months of depression, and periods of stability (euthymia).
The Black Dog Institute, BPHope, and the International Bipolar Foundation are helpful sources of information and support.
How can you be sure that you’re cured?
Bipolar Type II was the symptom, not the root cause of my suffering.
During an intensive period of self-development with an exceptional Integrity Coach, following two years of deep reflection and analysis as I wrote my memoir, I addressed the real issues and effectively “rewired” my brain. This concept refers to neuroplasticity: the ability of the brain to form and reorganise synaptic connections, especially in response to learning or experience.
Clinical recovery feels as unequivocal as complete recovery from a physical break: I was suffering with multiple fractures and now I can run. I am no longer bipolar, and I live without fear of recurrence.
What medication were you taking for bipolar?
Many bipolar memoirs focus heavily on orthodox medication and hospitalization – this was not my experience. With the support of my psychiatrist, GP, and integrative health practitioner, I chose not to treat Bipolar Type II with a commonly prescribed mood stabilizer. Instead, I benefitted from a tailored course of nutritional supplements, which helped me to manage bipolar without side effects, alongside a supportive lifestyle.
Which book formats are available?
The Integrity Cure is available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.
Where can I buy a copy of The Integrity Cure?
You can order from your local bookshop, or purchase from Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Spotify.
Where do I order copies for my bookshop/library?
The Integrity Cure in paperback can be ordered from IngramSpark.
Can I read a sample of The Integrity Cure?
A sample chapter from the audiobook is available on the Media page. Additional sample pages are available on book retailer sites.
Can you provide a summary of The Integrity Cure?
Please see the media kit for a book overview, outline, and key ideas.
Order from your local bookshop now!