Because We Are Bad: OCD and a Girl Lost in Thought
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)
A Washington Post Best Book of the Year
By the age of thirteen, Lily Bailey was convinced she was bad. She had killed someone with a thought, spread untold disease, and ogled the bodies of other children. Only by performing an exhausting series of secret routines could she make up for what she'd done. But no matter how intricate or repetitive, no act of penance was ever enough.
Beautifully written and astonishingly intimate, Because We Are Bad recounts a childhood consumed by obsessive compulsive disorder. As a child, Bailey created a second personality inside herself—"I" became "we"—to help manifest compulsions that drove every minute of every day of her young life. Now she writes about the forces beneath her skin, and how they ordered, organized, and urged her forward. Lily charts her journey, from checking on her younger sister dozens of times a night, to "normalizing" herself at school among new friends as she grew older, and finally to her young adult years, learning—indeed, breaking through—to make a way for herself in a big, wide world that refuses to stay in check.
Charming and raw, harrowing and redemptive, Because We Are Bad is an illuminating and uplifting look into the mind and soul of an extraordinary young woman, and a startling portrait of OCD that allows us to see and understand this condition as never before.
"One of the best [books] I have read on the phenomenology of OCD." —Washington Post
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
Lily Bailey. (2018). Because We Are Bad: OCD and a Girl Lost in Thought. HarperCollins.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Lily Bailey. 2018. Because We Are Bad: OCD and a Girl Lost in Thought. HarperCollins.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Lily Bailey, Because We Are Bad: OCD and a Girl Lost in Thought. HarperCollins, 2018.
MLA Citation (style guide)Lily Bailey. Because We Are Bad: OCD and a Girl Lost in Thought. HarperCollins, 2018.
| Library | Owned | Available |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Digital Collection | 1 | 0 |
OverDrive Product Record
- images
- cover:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/2363-1/{5DBCF989-A5C0-4EFE-8EAD-A118BD895BE4}IMG100.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- thumbnail:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/2363-1/{5DBCF989-A5C0-4EFE-8EAD-A118BD895BE4}IMG200.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover150Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/2363-1/{5DBCF989-A5C0-4EFE-8EAD-A118BD895BE4}IMG150.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover300Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/2363-1/{5DBCF989-A5C0-4EFE-8EAD-A118BD895BE4}IMG400.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover:
- formats
- identifiers:
- type: ISBN
- value: 9780062696182
- name: Adobe EPUB eBook
- id: ebook-epub-adobe
- identifiers:
- identifiers:
- type: ASIN
- value: B072F14SWY
- name: Kindle Book
- id: ebook-kindle
- identifiers:
- identifiers:
- type: ISBN
- value: 9780062696182
- name: OverDrive Read
- id: ebook-overdrive
- identifiers:
- otherFormatIdentifiers
- type: ISBN
- value: 9780062696175
- mediaType
- eBook
- primaryCreator
- role: Author
- name: Lily Bailey
- isOwnedByCollections
- True
- title
- Because We Are Bad
- dateAdded
- 2018-04-14T01:05:54.767Z
- contentDetails
- href: https://link.overdrive.com?websiteID=141&titleID=3336923
- type: text/html
- account:
- name: Sacramento Public Library (CA)
- id: 1151
- sortTitle
- Because We Are Bad OCD and a Girl Lost in Thought
- crossRefId
- 3336923
- subtitle
- OCD and a Girl Lost in Thought
- id
- 5DBCF989-A5C0-4EFE-8EAD-A118BD895BE4
- starRating
- 3.8
OverDrive MetaData
- isPublicDomain
- False
- formats
- fileName: BecauseWeAreBad_9780062696182_3336923
- partCount: 0
- fileSize: 1498215
- identifiers:
- type: ISBN
- value: 9780062696182
- rights:
- type: Copying
- value: 0
- type: Printing
- value: 0
- type: Lending
- value: 0
- type: ReadAloud
- value: 1
- type: ExpirationRights
- value: 0
- name: Adobe EPUB eBook
- isReadAlong: False
- id: ebook-epub-adobe
- onSaleDate: 11/21/2023
- samples:
- source: From the book
- formatType: ebook-overdrive
- url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=5dbcf989-a5c0-4efe-8ead-a118bd895be4&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
- fileName: BecauseWeAreBad_3336923
- partCount: 0
- fileSize: 0
- identifiers:
- type: ASIN
- value: B072F14SWY
- name: Kindle Book
- isReadAlong: False
- id: ebook-kindle
- onSaleDate: 11/21/2023
- samples:
- source: From the book
- formatType: ebook-overdrive
- url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=5dbcf989-a5c0-4efe-8ead-a118bd895be4&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
- fileName: BecauseWeAreBad_9780062696182_3336923
- partCount: 0
- fileSize: 1321846
- identifiers:
- type: ISBN
- value: 9780062696182
- name: OverDrive Read
- isReadAlong: False
- id: ebook-overdrive
- onSaleDate: 11/21/2023
- samples:
- source: From the book
- formatType: ebook-overdrive
- url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=5dbcf989-a5c0-4efe-8ead-a118bd895be4&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
- creators
- role: Author
- fileAs: Bailey, Lily
- bioText: Lily Bailey is a model and writer. She became a journalist in London in 2012, editing a news site and writing features and fashion articles for local publications including The Richmond Magazine and The Kingston Magazine. Lily lives in London with her dog, Rocky.
- name: Lily Bailey
- imprint
- Harper Audio
- publishDate
- 2018-04-03T00:00:00-04:00
- isOwnedByCollections
- True
- title
- Because We Are Bad
- fullDescription
- Journalist Lily Bailey's memoir Because We Are Bad reveals her childhood battle with obsessive compulsive disorder, and her hard-won journey to recovery.
A Washington Post Best Book of the Year
By the age of thirteen, Lily Bailey was convinced she was bad. She had killed someone with a thought, spread untold disease, and ogled the bodies of other children. Only by performing an exhausting series of secret routines could she make up for what she'd done. But no matter how intricate or repetitive, no act of penance was ever enough.
Beautifully written and astonishingly intimate, Because We Are Bad recounts a childhood consumed by obsessive compulsive disorder. As a child, Bailey created a second personality inside herself—"I" became "we"—to help manifest compulsions that drove every minute of every day of her young life. Now she writes about the forces beneath her skin, and how they ordered, organized, and urged her forward. Lily charts her journey, from checking on her younger sister dozens of times a night, to "normalizing" herself at school among new friends as she grew older, and finally to her young adult years, learning—indeed, breaking through—to make a way for herself in a big, wide world that refuses to stay in check.
Charming and raw, harrowing and redemptive, Because We Are Bad is an illuminating and uplifting look into the mind and soul of an extraordinary young woman, and a startling portrait of OCD that allows us to see and understand this condition as never before.
"One of the best [books] I have read on the phenomenology of OCD." —Washington Post - reviews
- premium: False
- source: Scott Stossel, the Washington Post
- content:
"Lily Bailey is precocious.... she writes with a literary poise and a gift for mordant observation and self-deprecating humor that belie her youth. [Because We Are Bad is] one of the best [books] I have read on the phenomenology of OCD."
— Scott Stossel, the Washington Post"A powerful and poignant memoir about identity, mental illness, and growing up, Because We Are Bad will take your breath away." — Bustle
"Lily Bailey provides a searingly honest, brave, and beautifully written account of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, one of mental health's most misinterpreted and misunderstood conditions in her work Because We Are Bad: OCD and A Girl Lost in Thought." — Brooklyn Digest
"In her courageous book, [Bailey] offers compelling insight into the pain and destructive power of OCD as well as the resilience of a young woman determined to beat the odds. A harrowingly honest memoir of profound psychological struggle." — Kirkus Reviews
"Bailey offers an authentic and stunning account of her struggle with obsessive compulsive disorder in this beautifully rendered memoir. Bailey is a vulnerable, vibrant, and courageous narrator." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Reminiscent of Girl, Interrupted and The Bell Jar, Bailey's debut memoir is about living with a debilitating case of obsessive compulsive disorder and her hard-won journey to recovery." — Purewow, Best of the Best April Books
"Bailey is unsparing in her well-written memoir of her struggles with OCD, giving readers an intimate experience of living with the disorder. Her account focuses much-needed light on a condition that demands to be better understood." — Michael Cart, Booklist
"Bailey's memoir is an insightful look into growing up with OCD and a great choice for readers of books such as Susanna Kaysen's Girl Interrupted. By transporting readers into her world, she makes understandable the urgent and debilitating obsessions of her experience." — Library Journal
"Extremely compelling... deeply personal." — The Guardian
"Even though this raw and emotive story can be heart breaking at times, Lily is still wonderfully funny.... Because We Are Bad will grip you from the start and not only hold your interest, but urge you to read on. This debut memoir is one everyone should read." — O'Fallon Public Library Blog
In Because We Are Bad, London-based journalist Lily Bailey upends those mischaracterizations of [Obsessive Compulsive Disorder] by beautifully exploring her own life.... Bailey is incredibly honest in her memoir, and in the process, she shows how common OCD is and why it's important to understand the compulsions that plague those with the disorder. You never know who's struggling with it. — Bitchreads, 15 Books Feminists Should Read in April
- premium: True
- source:
- content:
February 1, 2018
For as long as journalist Bailey could remember, "me" was "we." When Bailey was a child, she created an imaginary friend that lived inside her head to cope with what she later found out was obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Bailey went through every day of her life obsessing over the things she'd done that might be bad. Accidentally brushing against another person, speaking too loudly, and her grumbling stomach resulted in hours of thought. She spent countless afternoons and sleepless nights creating mental lists considering how bad or rude her actions were. Only by performing a set of routines for hours could she make up for her behavior. This made every human interaction extremely difficult because it led to potential bad behaviors and more compulsions. As Bailey became a teen and a young adult, her OCD spiraled out of control and she had to find ways to break through and cope with her fractured thinking. VERDICT Bailey's memoir is an insightful look into growing up with OCD and a great choice for readers of books such as Susanna Kaysen's Girl Interrupted. By transporting readers into her world, she makes understandable the urgent and debilitating obsessions of her experience.--Kristen Calvert, Marion Cty. P.L. Syst., Belleview, FL
Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
- premium: True
- source:
- content:
February 1, 2018
A British model and writer's account of how she learned to live with obsessive-compulsive disorder.As a child, the author privately referred to herself as "we." However, the girl that "shared" Bailey's mind was no imaginary friend: she was the "other" who drove her to check on her sleeping sister several times a night, wash her hands to rawness, and mentally repeat elaborate "prayer[s]." She existed to ensure that Bailey carried out rituals as "protection against everything going wrong" and make up for all her real and imagined mistakes, from killing someone with a thought to spreading deadly disease. As Bailey grew up, her secret "other" became increasingly exacting and onerous: "she [was] a banshee...a spoiled child demanding the whole of me." By the time the author was an adolescent, her "double" made her recite long strings of letters in her head, each of which stood for the first letter of an action (such as staring) or a thing (such as bad breath) for which she sought retribution. Bailey finally revealed her list-making habit to a school doctor, who referred her to a psychiatrist named Dr. Finch. Intensive therapy helped the author free herself from her "other," whom she then "replaced" with her doctor. Determined to free herself from dependence on Dr. Finch, the author severed their connection and stopped taking medication after leaving England to attend college in Ireland. The result was a first term characterized by heavy drinking, shoplifting, and attempted suicide. Only after returning to London to face her demons and work through transference issues with her psychiatrist was Bailey finally able to find relief from her overactive mind and the underlying anxiety that had defined her life. In her courageous book, the author offers compelling insight into the pain and destructive power of OCD as well as the resilience of a young woman determined to beat the odds.A harrowingly honest memoir of profound psychological struggle.COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
- premium: True
- source:
- content:
Starred review from February 5, 2018
London-based model and journalist Bailey offers an authentic and stunning account of her struggle with obsessive compulsive disorder in this beautifully-rendered memoir. Readers may initially wonder why the narrator often refers to herself as “we,” but will soon realize that the dueling voice inside Bailey’s head is an imaginary “friend” who reinforces intrusive thoughts, feeding into the author’s feelings of unworthiness. Bailey has a supportive family; though her parents divorce, they are committed to helping their daughter, who is diagnosed with OCD as a teen. Bailey does well in school (especially after receiving extra time for tests), but her interior dialogue is rife with worry and self-blame; it takes hours to fall asleep at night due to her analysis of intricate lists of perceived mistakes she’s made each day, along with her various routines (for example, tiptoeing into her sister’s room to see if she’s still breathing). Under the care of a psychiatrist, Bailey improves, but while attending college in Dublin she backslides and attempts suicide. Bailey is a vulnerable, vibrant, and courageous narrator. Daniel Lazar, Writers House.
- popularity
- 0
- links
- self:
- href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L1BWwAAAA2I/products/5dbcf989-a5c0-4efe-8ead-a118bd895be4/metadata
- type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json
- self:
- id
- 5dbcf989-a5c0-4efe-8ead-a118bd895be4
- starRating
- 3.8
- images
- cover:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/2363-1/{5DBCF989-A5C0-4EFE-8EAD-A118BD895BE4}IMG100.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- thumbnail:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/2363-1/{5DBCF989-A5C0-4EFE-8EAD-A118BD895BE4}IMG200.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover150Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/2363-1/{5DBCF989-A5C0-4EFE-8EAD-A118BD895BE4}IMG150.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover300Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/2363-1/{5DBCF989-A5C0-4EFE-8EAD-A118BD895BE4}IMG400.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover:
- isPublicPerformanceAllowed
- False
- languages
- code: en
- name: English
- subjects
- value: Biography & Autobiography
- value: Medical
- value: Psychology
- value: Nonfiction
- publishDateText
- 04/03/2018
- otherFormatIdentifiers
- type: ISBN
- value: 9780062696175
- mediaType
- eBook
- shortDescription
- Journalist Lily Bailey's memoir Because We Are Bad reveals her childhood battle with obsessive compulsive disorder, and her hard-won journey to recovery.
A Washington Post Best Book of the Year
By the age of thirteen, Lily Bailey was convinced she was bad. She had killed someone with a thought, spread untold disease, and ogled the bodies of other children. Only by performing an exhausting series of secret routines could she make up for what she'd done. But no matter how intricate or repetitive, no act of penance was ever enough.
Beautifully written and astonishingly intimate, Because We Are Bad recounts a childhood consumed by obsessive compulsive disorder. As a child, Bailey created a second personality inside herself—"I" became "we"—to help manifest compulsions that drove every minute of every day of her young life. Now she writes about the forces beneath her skin, and how they ordered, organized, and urged her forward. Lily charts... - sortTitle
- Because We Are Bad OCD and a Girl Lost in Thought
- crossRefId
- 3336923
- subtitle
- OCD and a Girl Lost in Thought
- publisher
- HarperCollins
- bisacCodes
- code: BIO026000
- description: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Memoirs
- code: PSY009000
- description: Psychology / Psychopathology / Compulsive Behavior
- code: PSY036000
- description: Psychology / Mental Health
