Task 23: Read a book that demystifies a common mental illness

[Jenny]

I ended up reading Transcendent Kingdom for this. It demystifies addiction and depression- or at least engages with the mystery about them. Depending on how broadly you are defining mental illness. A Duke by Default has a main character who discovers her ADHD in adulthood.

[Erin]

Samantha wrote: "Any fiction fit the prompt? (Looking for something different than the non-fiction suggestions that first pop to mind)"

Maybe The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time or The Question of the Missing Head? Both feature autistic protagonists.

[Erin]

I recently watched an interview with Matt Haig for his newest book and he mentioned having lived with depression for a fair bit of his life, so his memoir about his experiences might be my pick for this prompt: Reasons to Stay Alive

[Janell]

I just finished and realized how well it fits this prompt. It's a novel about a curmodgeonly widower in a nursing home who is contemplating suicide, and the adventures he has with his new roommate, an outwardly flamboyant retired actor.

[Bonnie G.]

Janell wrote: "I just finished and realized how well it fits this prompt. It's a novel about a curmodgeonly widower in a nursing home who is contemplating suicide, and th..."

Sounds like a good read, but what mental illness does this address?

[Sean]

The first book that came to mind when I read this challenge was The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon. It helped me out of a dark space twenty years ago and still gives me comfort.

[Rachel]

Has anyone read I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom? I'm wondering whether it may fit this task. There's mention in the blurb that she discusses her OCD and depression.

[Sheri]

I am thinking of using In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction.

[Jenna]

For anyone interested in learning what severe OCD can look like and the nature of some of the obsessions/intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors that can manifest with certain types of OCD (it’s a very diverse and often misunderstood mental health condition), I highly recommend the memoir Because We Are Bad: OCD and a Girl Lost In Thought, by Lily Bailey. I am a therapist who specializes in working with OCD and this book really portrays what some of my clients experience.

[Gw]

So I chose WILLOW WEEP FOR ME: A BLACK WOMANS JOURNEY THROUGH DEPRESSION. Cuz I’m interested in how she dealt. I’m black and depression is kicking my ass everyday. Winning and refuses to give me my life back..

[Sarah]

For those looking for fiction, I'm reading Em and the Big Hoom and really like it - bipolar disorder.

[Megs]

I just finished Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram and I think it's a great fit for this prompt.

[Karen]

Jenna wrote: "For anyone interested in learning what severe OCD can look like and the nature of some of the obsessions/intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors that can manifest with certain types of OCD (it’..."

Thanks, Jenna - This looks good.

[Chelsea]

The Buddha and the Borderline

[Rachel]

I am going to be reading Furiously Happy

[Mandie]

I'm listening to Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot for this prompt.

[Rachel]

Sid wrote: "I'm reading fiction this one, specifically a YA thriller (which have been growing on me lately). Wintergirls is about eating disorders (anorexia and bulimia specifically) but I would..."

I was going to be reading this book for another reading challenge but I wasn't sure if I could handle the topics in this book, is it good?

[Bonnie G.]

ummm....cancer is not a mental illness.

[Lisa]

I am considering reading The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

[Marie]

For a fictional book I would suggest Under Rose-Tainted Skies. Main character has agoraphobia and OCD. I would consider that it demystifies the mental illnesses just because she is a likeable character and you can empathize with and begin to understand what life is like from her view.

[Ashley]

I just started Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman. Would it count for this prompt?

[Judith]

Emma wrote: "If I hadn't already read it, I'd go for The Trick is to Keep Breathing. It's a fantastic look inside the mind of someone with serious depression. Hard to read at times, but amazing."

Oh that is SUCH a great book. Have you read her autobiography, This is Not About Me? I don't think it fits well for this task but if "The Trick Is To Keep Breathing" is semiautobiographical, reading this would make you understand why.

I've read Cheer Up, Love: Adventures in Depression with the Crab of Hate by Susan Calman for this prompt. I have now made my husband read it so he will understand me better!

[Jenn]

Has anyone read Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened? I feel like this might qualify since the author digs into her depression quite a lot...

[Octavia]

I read An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness by Kay Redfield Jamison for this and it was excellent. Jamison both has manic depression and is a scientist who researches that illness, so the book approached the topic from multiple angles and was just really fascinating.

[Chelsea]

Does Flowers for Algernon count for mental illness?

[Teresa Jo]

Would Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen work for this?

[Bonnie G.]

I would not say Flowers for Algernon or Girl, Interrupted attempt to demystify mental illness. Flowers for Algernon does exactly the opposite of that.

[Westiegirl]

I believe this counts Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family as it discusses schizophrenia which is apparently more common than I had appreciated. This was a good book and I do recommend it.

[A]

The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays

[De]

Autism is not a mental illness.

[Tammy]

I highly recommend Leaving Tinkertown by Tanya Ward Goodman. She writes about her father's early onset Alzheimer's disease. It really gave me an idea of how challenging the illness can be for all involved.

[Tammy]

I just saw this book on a list and it's a graphic memoir so could be a faster read for those still trying to check off this task: The Way She Feels: My Life on the Borderline in Pictures and Pieces.

It's described as "probably the best read to shake whatever ideas are in your head about borderline personality disorder." The only question is if it's considered a *common* mental illness.

[Laura Cort]

I would say Borderline Personality Disorder is a common enough mental illness. It's an illness that has a lot of stigma attached too, so a much-needed book!

[Tammy]

Laura Cort wrote: "I would say Borderline Personality Disorder is a common enough mental illness. It's an illness that has a lot of stigma attached too, so a much-needed book!"

Great. Thanks, Laura!

[Christine]

Although many lay persons do not consider Autism Spectrum Disorder a mental illness, so, too, do many *not* consider ADD/ADHD a mental illness. They are, nonetheless, both neurodevelopmental disorders requiring diagnosis by a trained medical/psychological professional, and they are clearly defined in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5).

As a neuroatypical person myself, I am not at all offended that these conditions be called disorders or included as appropriate reading for this challenge task (although I do rather wish the challenge had used the word “disorder” or “mental health challenge, but now I am nit-picking). It is the stigma itself that is the problem, so the more books that are written, read, and discussed about these subjects, the better!

[Brittany]

I read Harry Potter Therapy: An Unauthorized Self-Help Book from the Restricted Section by Janina Scarlet. There was a lot of information on anxiety, depression, and PTSD with personal stories from individuals within the Harry Potter fandom.