{"product_id":"the-make-believe-a-memoir-of-magic-and-madness","title":"The Make-Believe: A Memoir of Magic and Madness","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A frank and often darkly funny exploration of the convergence of hedonism with the self-help industry that led [Murray] headlong into 'the underbelly of the wellness and spiritual world.'\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Completely absorbing. . . . Beautifully written, harrowing, unexpectedly funny in parts and genuinely jaw-dropping throughout . . . I haven't stopped thinking about \n\u003ci\u003eThe Make-Believe\u003c\/i\u003e since I finished it.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eVogue\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eThe Make-Believe\u003c\/i\u003e is a harrowing read, as Murray navigates a predatory unnamed wellness cult in the lead-up to her collapse, but it's not a punishing experience. Murray--like the characters she once played--is mercurial and wry, and \n\u003ci\u003eThe Make-Believe\u003c\/i\u003e is fearless in its depiction of psychosis and criticisms toward the world of wellness.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eVulture\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"[An] extraordinary memoir . . . Astonishing and brilliant.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Impressive . . . The immersive feel of [Murray's] writing allows for a deft bit of trickery. It is so claustrophobic as to make you feel like you're stuck in someone's mind with their thoughts pressing up against you, and with no footing on solid ground.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Observer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eThe Make-Believe \u003c\/i\u003eis one of the most addictive [books] I've read in a long time. . . . A compelling mental health memoir about spiritual cults, vulnerability, and fame.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Emma Ganon, \u003ci\u003eThe Hyphen\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"In \n\u003ci\u003eThe Make-Believe, \u003c\/i\u003eHannah Murray traces the subtle architecture of belief: how need becomes trust, and trust becomes surrender. What makes this memoir so remarkable is what Murray resists--she does not cast herself as a victim or offer easy lessons. Instead, she reveals, moment by moment, how a person in search of healing can gradually lose herself. The power lies in the restraint, in the questions left unanswered.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Ruth Wariner, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Sound of Gravel\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Utterly exceptional memoir . . . a lyrical, powerful examination of what it means to be 'well.'\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Elizabeth Day\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A memoir of real literary power that wields a writer's full tool kit, with finger-biting dramatic irony, vivid sensory evocation, and pithy statements of uncomfortable truth. . . . The premise is fascinating, but her execution is what makes this story uniquely compelling.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Naoise Dolan, author of \u003ci\u003eExciting Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"I was deeply moved by this vital, brave memoir. Hannah Murray's compelling account of her experience is intensely open-hearted and lyrical, depicting just how porous the boundaries and realities of our lives can become. A stunning achievement.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Sophie Mackintosh, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Water Cure\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A page-turning and generous book that is intensely concerned with what it means to be human. Hannah Murray is a masterful storyteller.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Rebecca Watson, author of \u003ci\u003eLittle Scratch\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"This book is brilliantly and beautifully written, fast-flowing, deeply felt and observed. Hannah Murray is a writer of tremendous skill and fearlessness.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Daisy Johnson, author of \u003ci\u003eSisters\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"An extraordinary memoir--propulsive, immersive; like nothing I have ever read before. I read it in one day and thought about it for weeks afterwards.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Dolly Alderton, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eGood Material\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Reading \n\u003ci\u003eThe Make-Believe, \u003c\/i\u003e I shivered as I recognized the terror and seduction entwined in Hannah Murray's story. This memoir is harrowing, yes--but it is also exquisitely written, tracing the fracture of a mind and the fierce, fragile work of reclaiming it.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Daniella Mestyanek Young, author of \u003ci\u003eUncultured\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eHannah Murray\u003c\/b\u003e began her creative life as an actor, starring in E4's smash hit series \n\u003ci\u003eSkins\u003c\/i\u003e, and then appearing in HBO's cultural juggernaut \n\u003ci\u003eGame of Thrones\u003c\/i\u003e for seven of the show's eight seasons. Hannah has starred in numerous feature films including \n\u003ci\u003eDetroit\u003c\/i\u003e, directed by Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow. She has appeared on panels at events including San Diego Comic-Con and has spoken at Tulane University and the University of Connecticut. She has been featured in many publications worldwide, including \n\u003ci\u003eVogue\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eInterview\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian, \u003c\/i\u003e and \n\u003ci\u003eThe Independent.\u003c\/i\u003e She has also appeared on TV shows like \n\u003ci\u003eConan \u003c\/i\u003eand \n\u003ci\u003eGood Morning America. \u003c\/i\u003eHannah has a BA in English from Cambridge University and an MA in Creative Non-Fiction from the University of East Anglia.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFrom \u003ci\u003eSkins\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eGames of Thrones\u003c\/i\u003e star Hannah Murray, a \"genuinely jaw-dropping\" (\u003ci\u003eVogue\u003c\/i\u003e) memoir about fame, mental illness, and the struggle to leave a shadowy wellness organization whose belief in magic shattered her reality.\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\"A frank and often darkly funny exploration of the convergence of hedonism with the self-help industry.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eI lost my mind. I lost my self. I got them back. But they are different . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom her breakout role as a teen actor on the cult TV show \n\u003ci\u003eSkins\u003c\/i\u003e, to critically acclaimed movies, to the smash hit \n\u003ci\u003eGame of Thrones\u003c\/i\u003e, Hannah Murray built a career in Hollywood cracking open her own psychological foundations and pushing her body to its limits. But one day, the line between make-believe and reality disappeared, and she found herself confined to a psych ward, dangerously in love with the leader of a shadowy wellness organization, and believing in magic. How she got there--and how she managed to rebuild her life--is the heart of this gripping, powerful memoir that asks: \n\u003ci\u003eHow far would you go to find enlightenment?\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor Hannah, it was deceptively easy to fall down the rabbit hole. As she struggled with her mental health, she sought help in the form of wellness and self-care. After an eye-opening session with an energy healer, Hannah was introduced to an organization that she was told would bring her further spiritual rewards. Enthralled by its charismatic leader and his teachings of a world filled with magic and meaning, Hannah found herself sucked into a rigorous practice involving high control and financial outlay. And as her sense of reality began to slip, eventually resulting in her hospitalization and diagnosis with bipolar disorder, she realized she had fully ceded control of her life to this mysterious organization. And, she thought, as she reckoned with the Hollywood career that conditioned her to give her body and soul over to others, maybe she'd been doing that her whole life. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBoth a cautionary tale and a cry for radical empathy, Hannah's story of learning to trust herself will resonate with anyone who has struggled to find agency. \n\u003ci\u003eThe Make-Believe \u003c\/i\u003eis a probing exploration of womanhood and mental health, and a search for the healing that comes when we reclaim our own narratives.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 06\/08\/2026 (EAN 9780593979822, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Dial Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496207810838,"sku":"9780593979822","price":33.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9780593979822.jpg?v=1783057568","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/the-make-believe-a-memoir-of-magic-and-madness","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}