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General Hospital Star Benard Wins Christopher Award for book

"Nothing General About It" coauthored by Susan Black, is one of 12 books representing 17 authors & illustrators in the Awards' 72nd year

Jeanne Byington, Community Contributor
(Maurice Benard with coauthor Susan Black won 2021 Christopher Awards for "Nothing General About It.")

LA-based "General Hospital" star Maurice Benard and co-author Susan Black, also from LA, received Christopher Awards for Nothing General About It: How Love (And Lithium) Saved Me On and Off ‘General Hospital’ (William Morrow/Harper Collins). The New York Times bestseller, published in paperback today, is one of 12 books for adults and young people by 17 authors and illustrators honored as the Awards mark their 72nd year. The authors join creators of 10 winning TV/cable and feature films.

In the book Benard documents his lifelong battles with bipolar disorder and anxiety, the love and medications that helped him thrive, and his commitment to erasing the stigma around mental illness. He was diagnosed at 22, surviving a stint in a mental institution as a young man, before becoming a television star.

The #ChristopherAwards were created in 1949 to celebrate authors, illustrators, writers, producers and directors whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit,” and reflects The Christophers' motto, “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness” said Tony Rossi, director of communications.

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Nothing General About It offers insights and advice for everyone trying to cope with mental illness, and is a motivational story that offers lessons in perseverance—of the importance of believing in and fighting for yourself through the darkest times.

In the book Benard looks back to his youth in a small town and his tenuous relationship with his father. He describes how his bipolar disorder began to surface in childhood, how he struggled to understand the jolting mood swings he experienced, and how a doctor finally saved his life. Even after he “made it” as an actor, he grappled with terrifying lows, breakdowns, and setbacks, all while trying to maintain his relationship with his wife, who endured his violent, unpredictable episodes.

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In addition to 28 years on "General Hospital" playing Sonny “Michael” Corinthos, Jr. Benard, an Emmy Award winner, most recently starred as John Gotti in Lifetime’s “Victoria Gotti: My Father’s Daughter,” which aired this year; the horror film “Nightmare Cinema,” with Mickey Rourke, which opened the New York Horror Film Festival and will be in theaters June 21st; the indie films “Hold On,” and “Equal Standard,” alongside Ice T; and Lifetime’s “A Lover Betrayed.” Benard's next project is a gangster film "Legitimate Wiseguy," a true story directed by George Gallo. Joining him in the cast are Ruby Rose, Emile Hirsch and Harvey Keitel.

A member of the Actor's Studio, Benard is a recipient of three Soap Opera Digest Awards and has also received a Prism Award and four Latino Media Arts Award nominations.

Among his other film and television credits are David O’Russell’s “Joy,” with Robert De Niro and Jennifer Lawrence; “Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter”; “Ruby”; and “Mi Vida Loca.” The indie film “The Ghost and the Whale,” produced by Benard’s wife, Paula Benard, in which he starred as a bipolar man losing the battle with his illness after his wife’s death, was a labor of love. It underscored his strong commitment to raise awareness about mental health issues. Benard was previously on “All My Children” as another popular character, Nico, from 1987-1990.

Benard maintains a mental health advocacy site on YouTube: Maurice Benard State of Min

New York Times bestselling author and award-winning screenwriter Susan Black includes among her many screen credits NBC’s Emmy Award-winning series “A Year in The Life”; HBO’s “State of Emergency,” for which she received the PEN Literary Award, and CableAce and Humanitas Award nominations; ABC’s “Married to a Stranger”; TNT’s “Running Mates”; and Showtime’s “Tapestries of Hope,” shot in Zimbabwe, which she also produced. Black was formerly a staff writer at Warner Bros. Pictures. She is an alumna of the prestigious American Film Institute Conservatory Drama program, selected from a national competition, and attended Radford University, Radford, Va. She is currently writing her next book and has several projects in development.

The Christophers, a nonprofit founded in 1945 by Maryknoll Father James Keller, is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition of service to God and humanity. The ancient Chinese proverb—“It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness”— guides its publishing, radio, and awards programs. More information about The Christophers is available at www.christophers.org.

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