Jordan Fineman perseveres. Even when his original diagnosis of bipolar disorder and severe obsessive-compulsive disorder takes on psychotic dimensions after a harrowing psychotic episode, he holds the faith. With an ever-present sense of humor and the guidance of a remarkably skilled psychiatrist, he continues to make his way forward. In the end, it is his growing awareness of how the twelve-step program can be of help, even to a man without a drinking problem, that has the power to bring him all the way home.
From Kirkus Reviews
Greenfield’s novel is a harrowing, intimate account of a man living with mental illness. Jordan Fineman has a lot going for him. He comes from a very supportive upper-middle-class family. He went to the best private schools and is attending Cornell. Bright and creative, he’s launching a career as a writer in the 1980s. He is also mentally ill, with hereditary obsessive-compulsive disorder and manic depression. This novel charts Jordan’s slow road to a modicum of stability as he learns to keep the worst of the demons at bay. A real hero here is his wise psychiatrist, Dr. Lawrence Rubin. The good doctor is available 24/7 and knows just how to treat Jordan’s behavior and balance his meds. The story is also a paean to modern psychiatric medicines, the root cause of such illness being a chemical imbalance in the brain. There are many twists and turns, progress and regress, in this decadeslong tale. (At one point, Jordan has some success as a stand-up comedian!) In an afterword, the reader learns what was long suspected: Jordan Fineman (fine man?), who appears in other Greenfield novels, is in fact the author’s alter ego. It’s a strange but compelling performance, this recounting of mental illness episodes by a lead who is now as “sane” as most of us. In fact, even as Jordan is experiencing psychotic episodes, he is aware that that is what they are but is often powerless to deal with them. At one point, he says, “I might have been a smart cookie, but I was still a sick puppy.” Try to imagine living with that awareness! Greenfield’s book provides an invaluable service—showing and humanizing the lived reality of mental illness.
A cleareyed, passionate, and authentic portrayal.


Josh Greenfield is a graduate of both Phillips Andover Academy and Cornell University's College of Arts and Sciences. He holds two master’s degrees from the City University of New York, one in history and one in English literature. He also completed the better part of a doctorate in English at Fordham University. He lives in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. His desire in writing is to tell an entertaining and engaging story, to look for laughs in dark places.
To learn more, please visit: www.JoshGreenfield.us

He is the author of Cutting Through the Knot: a novel, Homeward Bound: a novella of idle speculation and Full of Wonderment: a novel, all published by Lulu. His work has been featured in The Cornell Daily Sun, The Riverdale Press, Appalachia, Word Catalyst Magazine, Chaleur Magazine, The B’k Magazine, Prometheus Dreaming, Better than Starbucks and Adelaide Magazine. His story, “And the Doors of the Ambulance Closed,” was nominated for a Best of the Net 2019 Award.
His novel, “Continue Breathing,” published in 2020 from Adelaide Books is now available.


Title: Continue Breathing
Author: Josh Greenfield
Publisher: Adelaide Books
Publisher Website: https://adelaidebooks.org/
Publisher Email: [email protected]
ISBN: 978-1954351295
Price: $19.60
Page Count: 288 pages
Formats: Paperback


Description of the company: ADELAIDE BOOKS LLC is a New York based independent company dedicated to publishing literary fiction and creative nonfiction. It was founded in July 2017 as an imprint of the Adelaide Literary Magazine, with the aim to facilitate publishing of novels, memoirs, and collections of short stories, poems, and essays by contributing authors of our magazine and other qualified writers.