Mental Illness Literature

FICTION and NONFICTION BOOKS about/FOCUSED on THEMES of
MENTAL ILLNESS


AUTISM
Gradin, Temple. Thinking in Pictures and Other Reports from My Life with
Autism.
(recommended by the NDCWU**)




CHRONIC DEPRESSION/SUICIDAL DEPRESSION

Casey, Nell. Unholy Ghost: Writers on Depression

Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar.
(written about and by a young woman--and a stunningly adept creative
writer--whom we lost when she successfully committed suicide after
numerous attempts)

Wurtzel, Elizabeth. Prozac Nation: Young and Depressed in America.
(the title says it all, but the writer covers even more--in great, even
severe, depth)





CUTTING and SELF-MUTILATION
Greenberg, Joanne. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden.
(again the desperate need to feel/escape the mind)

Jameson, Kay Redfield. An Unquiet Mind: a Memoir of Moods and
Madness.
(an exploration of the insidious highs and trenchant lows that resist
treatment and at the same time cry for it, written by a Ph.D. with Manic
Depression)

Kettlewell, Caroline. Skin Game: a Memoir.
(revealing discussions and descriptions of what is to be a cutter, one
who is compelled to cut herself to gain imperative relief)

GENERAL MENTAL ILLNESS
Kaysen, Susanna. Girl, Interrupted.
(memoir of young woman institutionalized for mental imbalance,
written with a dark humor that is subtle, penetrating, and brilliant)

Milford, Nancy. Zelda. (biography chronicling the life and descent of
multi-talented, multi-afflicted Zelda Fitzgerald)

Sheed, Wilfred. In Love with Daylight: A Memoir of Recovery


MPD, MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER
Chase, Truddi. When Rabbit Howls.
(powerful rendering of the evolution of a child growing up with MPD,
Multiple Personality Disorder)

Schreiber, Flora Rheita. Sybil.
(the definitive MPD story)

OCD, OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER
Sedaris, David. "A Plague of Tics." In Naked.
(utterly hysterical short story told from the point of view of a boy with
OCD--who licks light switches to keep his disorder content and
counting)
Styron, William. Darkness Visible.
(Styron’s memoirs on living with and around depression.)

Wilensky, Amy. Passing For Normal: A Memoir of Compulsion.

Handler, Lowell. Twitch and Shout: A Touretter's Tale.**

Morgan, Emma. A Stillness Built of Motion: Living with Tourette's**

ADD/ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER (a.k.a. ADHD)
Brown, Dale S.. A Guide to Planning Your Career and Finding a Job for People with Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorder, and Dyslexia.**

Emery, Dr. Kevin Ross. Managing the Gift: Alternative Approaches for Attention Deficit Disorder.

Jameson, Kay Redfield. Touched with Fire: Manic Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament.

Kelly, Kate, and Peggy Mundo. You Mean I'm Not Stupid, Lazy, or Crazy?!: A Self-help Book for Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder.

Nettle, Daniel. Strong Imagination: Madness, Creativity, and Human Nature.

Phillips, Deborah, et.al.. Writing Well: Creative Writing and Mental Health.

Traustadottir, Ranveig, and Kelley Johnson. Women with Intellectual Disabilities: Finding a Place in the World.

Weiss, Lynn, Ph.D. ADD and Creativity.