Which Mental Illness-Related Books Have You Read?

I’ve read a lot of books in the clinical/abnormal psych genre the past few years. A LOT.

Some of these are memoirs.

Some are textbook-style books.

Some are therapy books or workbooks.

Some are even works of fiction starring main characters with mental illness.

To take a look at books I’ve read, I started to created a list! Check it out!

 

 

Bipolar Disorder:

1. An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison
2. Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament by Kay Redfield Jamison
3. Robert Lowell, Setting the River on Fire: A Study of Genius, Mania, and Character by Kay Redfield Jamison
4. Madness: A Bipolar Life by Marya Hornbacher
5. Manic: A Memoir by Terri Cheney
6. A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic-depressive Illness by Patty Duke & Gloria Hochman
7. Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo and Me by Ellen Forney
8. Rock Steady: Brilliant Advice from My Bipolar Life by Ellen Forney
9. Gorilla and the Bird: A Memoir of Madness and a Mother’s Love by Zach McDermott
10. My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward: A Memoir by Mark Lukach
11. Birth of a New Brain: Healing from Postpartum Bipolar Disorder by Dyane Harwood
12. This Fragile Life: A Mother’s Story of a Bipolar Son by Charlotte Pierce-Baker
13. The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Bipolar Disorder: Using DBT to Regain Control of Your Emotions and Your Life by Sheri Van Dijk
14. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Bipolar Disorder by Monica Basco & A. John Rush
15. Healthy Living with Bipolar Disorder by International Bipolar Foundation
16. Bipolar, Not so Much: Understanding your Mood Swings and Depression by Chris Aiken, MD & James Phelps, MD
17. Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick (Fiction)
18. Rx by Elizabeth Braswell (Comic book style memoir)
19. The Bipolar Handbook: Real-Life Questions with Up-to-Date Answers by Wes Burgess, MD, PhD
20. Another Kind of Madness: A Journey through the Stigma and Hope of Mental Illness by Stephen P. Hinshaw, PhD (memoir with focus on growing up with father with mental illness)
21. Currently reading/On My Reading List:
    1. Bipolar 101: A Practical Guide to Identifying Triggers, Managing Medications, Coping with Symptoms & More by Ruth White & John Preston
    2. Mental: Lithium, Love & Losing My Mind by Jaime Lowe

 

Anxiety:

1. Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
2. First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Journey Through Anxiety by Sarah Wilson

 

OCD:

1. The Man Who Couldn’t Stop: OCD and the True Story of a Life Lost in Thought by David Adam
2. Turtles all the Way Down by John Green (YA Fiction)

 

Depression:

1. The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon
2. Boy Meets Depression: Or Life Sucks and then you Live by Kevin Breel
3. Currently Reading:
   1. The Hilarious World of Depression by John Moe

 

Trauma:

1. Know My Name by Chanel Miller
2. Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky (YA Fiction)
3. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD
4. Why Women are Blamed for Everything: Exploring Victim Blaming of Women Subjected to Violence and Trauma by Dr Jessica Taylor

 

Eating Disorders:

1. Body Positive Power: Because Life is Already Happening and You Don’t Need Flat Abs to Live It by Megan Crabbe

 

Suicide:

1. Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
2. Night Falls Fast by Kay Redfield Jamison
3. Suicidal: Why we Kill Ourselves by Jesse Bering
4. Why People Die by Suicide by Thomas Joiner
5. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (semi-autobiographical novel)

 

Substance Use:

1. Beautiful Boy by David Sheff
2. The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp (YA Fiction)

 

Borderline Personality Disorder:

1. Coping with BPD: DBT and CBT Skills to Soothe the Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder by Blaise Aguirre MD & Gillian Galen, PsyD
2. Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
3. Building a Life Worth Living by Marsha M. Linehan

 

Schizophrenia & Schizoaffective Disorder:

1. The Center Cannot Hold : My Journey Through Madness by Elyn R. Saks
2. Bitter Medicine: A Graphic Memoir of Mental Illness by Clem Martini & Olivier Martini
3. The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays by Esme Wang

 

Therapy:

1. How to be Happy or at Least Less Sad: A Creative Workbook by Lee Crutchley
2. Letters to a Young Therapist by Mary Pipher
3. The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists & Their Patients by Irvin D. Yalom, MD
4. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb

 

Textbooks:

1. Stahl’s Essential Psychopharmacology: Neuroscientific Basis and Practical Applications by Stephen M. Stahl (I’ve read certain parts… I really like Chapter 6 on Mood Disorders with how it creates visual illustrations of various types of bipolar disorder.) I see the Prescriber’s Guide version of this in pretty much every psychiatry office.
2. Manic-Depressive Illness: Bipolar Disorders and Recurrent Depression by Kay Redfield Jamison & Frederick Goodwin (Textbook with 2 volumes)

 

Career-related Resources:

1. Insider’s Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology by Michael Sayette & John Norcross

 

How many of these have you read? Are there any suggestions you have for what should be on my list to read next?