… but I am merely amused.

Robin Hobb has apparently declared medication for mental illness to be “cheating.” Yoon Ha Lee takes her apart. ((Yoon Ha Lee, by the way, is a totally awesome writer. I am in love with her stories something serious.))

ETA: Kaigou then disintegrates Robin into tiny pieces and it is glorious and wise. Link via Wogglebug.

I have to say… if my medication is a cheat code, I want better ones.

Vis a vis, does Robin Hobb actually have manic-depression or does she just think she has it and thus actually isn’t operating with a handicap?

If someone is actually bipolar, they tend to take their condition more seriously by the time they’re Robin’s age. ((Well, actually, they might not take their condition seriously. That means they’re dead by their late 30s. Poor souls.)) Having the actual illness means that, before you’re even 25, it’s already caused serious damage—certainly more serious than drinking too much coffee and talking to oneself with the radio on. Untreated bipolar in familial members also leads to a childhood life that is more than just “tinged with darkness.” Swallowed by darkness, may be.

So I’m inclined to believe that Robin Hobb does not know what the fuck she’s talking about, which wouldn’t exactly be a first for her.

I can name many people who’ve managed to stay alive and mostly sane in the game of life on extra-hard mode. And let me tell you, Robin, if you don’t need power-ups or 1-ups, you ain’t even doing it on normal.