The Anxiety Cure: An Eight-Step Program for Getting Well by Robert L. DuPont, MD, Elizabeth DuPont Spencer, MSW, Caroline M. DuPont, MD, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998. Anxiety disorders cause untold suffering, and they affect one in four people. This book offers an eight-step practical program for fast and long-lasting relief of anxiety symptoms. The Anxiety Cure is written by a father and his two daughters, now in clinical practice together, who tell the inspiring story of how they overcame anxiety in their family. The authors share their step-by-step methods for dealing with the six main types of anxiety, including panic disorder, agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The ART of BEING a HEALING PRESENCE / A Guide for Those in Caring Relationships by James E. Miller with Susan C. Cutshall, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Willowgreen Publishing, 2001. For more information: 260/490.2222. James E. Miller is a grief counselor, spiritual director, writer/photographer, and lecturer who presents in the areas of healing presence, caregiving, spirituality, loss and grief, and managing transition. He is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church.
Bipolar Books / Recommended Books on Bipolar / Dr. John Grohol, the founder & CEO of Psych Central, author, researcher, and expert in mental health online offers his recommendations for books to read on bipolar. Visit: https://psychcentral.com/lib/recommended-books-on-bipolar/.
Bipolar 101: A Practical Guide to Identifying Triggers, Managing Medications, Coping with Symptoms, and More by Ruth White, Ph.D., MPH, MSW, and John Preston, PsyD, ABPP
The Bipolar Child: The Definitive and Reassuring Guide to Childhood’s Most Misunderstood Disorder by Demetri and Janice Papolos, New York: Broadway Books, 1999. In researching the book, the authors utilized the “listserv” of a network of families whose children had been given this diagnosis; thus, over a year period, they had almost daily contact with approximately 200 families.*
Bipolar Disorder: A Family-focused Treatment Approach by David J. Miklowitz, Ph.D. and Michael J. Goldstein, Ph.D., The Guilford Press, 1997. Reviewer: “This volume provides a concise but thorough account of current knowledge about all aspects of bipolar disorder: symptom pictures, etiology, and treatments. Written in a clear style and free of jargon, the book is probably indispensable for professionals, of whatever discipline, who would consider implementing this type of treatment, while its first three chapters provide one of the best available overviews of bipolar disorder for clinicians, students, and even patients and their families.” — Behavior Research and Therapy
Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for Patients and Families by Francis Mark Mondimore, MD, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999. “Exhaustive, scientific, yet compassionate… An absolute gold mine for those with the disorder and their families: thorough, candid, and up-to-date advice, full of new possibilities for help.”— Kirkus Reviews “A valuable educational resource for individuals with bipolar disorder and the people who care about them. I highly recommend it for patients and their family members and friends as an enlightened, pragmatic, and empathic resource for this very complex and challenging illness.” — Journal of Clinical Psychiatry*
Bipolar Disorders: A Guide to Helping Children and Adolescents by Mitzi Waltz, Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly and Associates, 2000. Practical, helpful, and up-to-date book for young persons with manic-depressive illness and their families. The author has one child with childhood-onset manic depression and another with a pervasive developmental disorder.
Bipolar Disorder for Dummies by Candida Fink and Joe Kraynak. “…Bipolar expert Candida Fink has written a book that explains it clearly, and provides plenty of advice on the latest drugs as well as telling you how to spot early signs of the condition…” — Independent on Sunday, September 25, 2005.
Bipolar Disorder (Take Charge of): A 4-Step Plan for You and Your Loved Ones to Manage the Illness and Create Lasting Stability by Julie A Fast and John Preston; Paperback: 320 pages; Publisher: Warner Wellness; illustrated edition (September 26, 2006). Many people diagnosed with bipolar disorder are sent home with the name of a doctor and prescription drugs. But few are able to manage their often out-of-control emotions with medication alone. Author, Julie Fast, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age thirty-one, and bipolar disorder specialist John Preston who has written over ten books on mental illness, offer a unique, personalized approach that teaches people with bipolar disorder and their loved ones to manage the illness and achieve daily stability. Fast and Preston’s groundbreaking program combines medication and supplements, lifestyle changes, behavior modifications, and other indispensable management tools. Readers will learn how to: (1) Understand the behaviors caused by bipolar disorder (2) Work with their doctors to find the right medications (3) Develop a bipolar-friendly diet and exercise program (4) Recognize the triggers and signs of major bipolar disorder symptoms to stop the mood swings before they go too far. [Note: The title reads Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder: A 4-Step Plan for You and Your Loved Ones to Manage the Illness and Create Lasting Stability.]
The Bipolar Handbook for Children, Teens, and Families: Real-Life Questions with Up-to-Date Answers by Wes Burgess, MD, Ph.D.; Paperback: 288 pages; Publisher: Avery (May 15, 2008). A practicing psychiatrist specializing in bipolar disorder for nearly twenty years, Dr. Burgess has helped countless children and teens navigate the minefield of mania and depression and lead successful, happy lives. Drawing on the real questions asked by patients and parents and families of affected children, The Bipolar Handbook for Children, Teens, and Families tackles every area of the disorder: causes; medical treatment and psychotherapy; strategies for creating a healthy lifestyle; and preventing, coping with, and treating bipolar episodes. The book interacts with more than five hundred questions and answers. The Bipolar Handbook for Children, Teens, and Families also includes diagnostic criteria from the American Psychiatric Association and the National Institute of Mental Health, making this a versatile guide—perfect for both quick reference and in-depth study. Dr. Burgess is a practicing psychiatrist specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of the bipolar disorder. A featured commentator on NPR and network television and a former member of the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, he has lectured worldwide, written for professional journals, and contributed to several books.
The Bipolar Handbook: Real-Life Questions with Up-to-Date Answers by Wes Burgess, MD, Ph.D., Paperback: 256 pages; Publisher: Avery/Penguin; 1 edition (June 8, 2006). Burgess, draws upon the real questions asked by patients and families during his nearly twenty years as a bipolar specialist, The Bipolar Handbook comprehensively tackles every area of the disorder, from its causes to medical treatment and psychotherapy, to strategies for creating a healthy lifestyle, to the prevention of, coping with, and treatment of bipolar episodes. The book interacts with more than five hundred questions and answers. The Bipolar Handbook offers an easy-to-access format and full chapter of resources, as well as diagnostic criteria from the American Psychiatric Association and the National Institute for Mental Health, making this a versatile guide-perfect for quick reference and in-depth discovery. Dr. Burgess is a practicing Los Angeles psychiatrist specializing in bipolar disorder. A featured commentator on NPR and network television and a former member of the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, he has lectured worldwide.
The Bipolar Workbook: Tools for Controlling Your Mood Swings by Monica Ramirez Basco, The Guilford Press. “As someone involved with bipolar disorder, as both a clinician and a parent, I know how important it is for people to learn to control and manage their symptoms instead of their disorder controlling them. This wonderful workbook is practical and easy to use – it will help people with the disorder make positive changes in their lives. In addition, family members will better be able to understand what their loved one is going through and what they can do to help.”—Nancy Ferguson-Noyes, RN, CS, Child, and Adolescent Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Nurse Specialist and mother of a 15-year-old with bipolar disorder.”
The Elements of Bipolar Disorder, A Practical Guide by Dr. Jay Carter, PsyD. One clinical psychologist said of this book that “there is more information in this little book than any 300-page book on Bipolar Disorder.” Dr. Mica F. Landry of New Orleans, LA, writes: “This book, although written by a mental health professional, is a very readable and enjoyable overview of what bipolar really means. He not only gives examples of cases but discusses medications—why and when they are prescribed. Highly recommended!”
bp MAGAZINE (Bipolar Magazine) is no longer being published, nevertheless, it is making new resources available. Check out bpHope.com | Hope & Harmony for People with Bipolar (https://www.bphope.com/) to find excellent FREE archived articles, blogs, entire magazine downloads, videos, AND MORE. All accessible by way of your iPhone, iPad, laptop, or computer. This material is priceless. Additionally, you can sign up to have informative and educational newsletters sent to your email box regularly.
Broken Brain (The): The Biological Revolution in Psychiatry by Nancy C. Andreasen, M.D., Ph.D., Perennial Library (paperback),1984 and Harper & Row hardback. New York Times Review and Book Description: “Valuable to anyone who knows someone afflicted with a mental illness. This is a comprehensive and remarkably readable guide to the new scientific understanding of schizophrenia, severe depression, and other major mental disorders and to the new medications that have already returned hundreds of thousands to more normal lives. Dr. Andreasen’s book is also a social manifesto that seeks to remove the shame, guilt, and punishment that are still attached to the mentally ill and, instead, to regard them ‘as human beings who deserve as much sensitivity and love as people who suffer from cancer, muscular dystrophy, or heart disease.’”
Burden of Sympathy: How Families Cope with Mental Illness by David Karp, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. The author, a professor of sociology at Boston College, himself suffered from severe depression. This book is based upon sixty intensive interviews he did with family members of individuals with schizophrenia, manic-depressive illness, and severe depression. Recommended reading for caregivers.*
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The CBT Toolbox: A Workbook for Clients and Clinicians by Jeff Riggenbach, Ph.D., LPC, PESI Publishing and Media, 2013. Author and Book Sketch: Jeff Riggenbach, Ph.D., LPC is a speaker, author, & clinician licensed in the state of Oklahoma. He currently serves as the director of outpatient services at Brookhaven Hospital in Tulsa and is president of the CBT Institute of Oklahoma. Theoretically sound, yet practical and easy to use. CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy) is the most empirically-supported form of treatment for a broad range of psychological problems. The CBT Toolbox is not a “one strategy fits all” book. This workbook provides exercises that integrate research with practical application for specific symptom sets with the necessary depth to create meaningful change. The CBT Toolbox guides you through evidence-based exercises to help navigate the road to recovery. For a client’s use on their own or for use in a therapeutic setting, this book will teach how to overcome unhealthy life patterns, providing fresh and proven approaches to help.
Coping with Bipolar Disorder: A CBT-Informed Guide to Living with Manic Depression by Steven Jones, Peter Haywood, and Dominic Lam, Oneworld Publications, 2009. Authors and Book Sketch: A guide to coping with bipolar disorder which offers information on all the key areas, including medication, dealing with stress, and using psychological techniques to cope with manic depression. It is designed specifically for sufferers of bipolar disorder, their caregivers and/or support givers, friends, and families. It combines definitive coverage of the condition and information about treatment with an approach that encourages patients to manage their own psychological health using cognitive behavior therapy, as well as the more traditional medication regimes. The result is a straightforward book that should empower sufferers, in addition to giving them necessary advice on such key areas as sleeping habits, coping with stress and anger, and relating to family and friends. Dr. Steven Jones is a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Lancaster. Peter Hayward is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust in London. Dominic Lam is a Professor of Clinical Psychology, at the University of Hull.
Cultivating Wholeness: A Guide to Care and Counseling in Faith Communities by Margaret Kornfeld, The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc.,1998. The author is a pastoral care psychotherapist, an American Baptist pastor, a longtime faculty member of the Blanton-Peale Graduate Institute and of Union Theological Seminary, and president-elect of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors as of the publishing date.
Daughter of the Queen of Sheba by Jacki Lyden, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. Paperback by Penguin Books, 1998. Description of three sisters who have a mother with chronic mania and a brutal stepfather complicating the situation. Of special interest are the accounts of attempts to get the mother treated that failed because of stringent commitment laws.*
Depression / Recommended Books on Depression / Dr. John Grohol, the founder & CEO of PsychCentral, author, researcher, and expert in mental health online offers his recommendations for books to read on depression. Visit: https://psychcentral.com/lib/recommended-books-on-depression/.
Depression and Bipolar Disorder: Your Guide to Recovery by William R. Marchand, MD, Bull Publishing Company, 1988. Author and Book Sketch: Marchand is a board-certified academic psychiatrist and neuroscientist who is currently an assistant professor of psychiatry and an adjunct assistant professor of psychology at the University of Utah. He has years of experience treating mood disorders in clinical settings; researching the neurobiology of mood and anxiety disorders, as well as educating mental health providers and the general public; and using functional neuroimaging methods to investigate the causes of anxiety and affective conditions. In this book, Marchand responds to the reasons why people often do not recover from mood disorders. The book empowers readers by providing the tools needed to work effectively with doctors and health care providers to negotiate the complex recovery pathway. The book is practical, it provides flowcharts and useful forms to help readers determine whether they need help and how best to collaborate with their medical team.
The Depression Answer Book: Professional Answers to More than 275 Critical Questions About Medication, Therapy, Support, and More by Doctor Wes Burgess, M.D., Ph.D.
The Depression Workbook: A Guide for Living with Depression and Manic Depression by Mary Ellen Copeland, MS., Newharbinger Publications, Inc., 1992. Review by Jill Lightner: It may be difficult for those suffering from depression to add a little work into their day; simply getting out of bed can seem like plenty of work. But if you are newly diagnosed or experiencing moderate problems with depression or bipolar disorder, The Depression Workbook might be a literal lifesaver. The first section is especially useful to new patients just learning to navigate the signs, treatments, and vocabulary of depression. Clearly written overviews of specific symptoms are coupled with space for you to write in your own thoughts on treatment, prognosis, and your ultimate goals. Checklists and daily planners help to identify both areas of difficulty and positive experiences; later in the book, you’ll find charts for tracking medications, diet, and doctor visits. Ideas range from open discussions with family members to seeking out volunteer work, and it’s this section that may be the trickiest for the depressed to work through. Finding the strength to make new friends may seem impossible at first, but author Mary Ellen Copeland spreads plenty of warmth, encouragement, and personal experience among her directives.
Electroshock: Restoring the Mind by Max Fink, New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Note: Useful for individuals and their families who are contemplating electroconvulsive therapy [ECT] written in layperson language.*
esperanza MAGAZINE (Anxiety and Depression Magazine) is no longer being published, nevertheless, it is making new resources available. Check out hopetocope.com | Hope for Anxiety and Depression: (https://www.hopetocope.com/) to find excellent FREE archived articles, blogs, entire magazine downloads, videos, AND MORE. All accessible by way of your iPhone, iPad, laptop, or computer. This material is priceless. Additionally, you can sign up to have informative and educational newsletters sent to your email box regularly.
Exuberance: The Passion for Life by Kay Redfield Jamison, Knopf, 2004. (Kay Redfield Jamison is a Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as well as an Honorary Professor of English at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. She is the author of the national best sellers An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness, Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide, and Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament. The editors of Scientific American write: “Exuberance,” Jamison says, “is an abounding, ebullient, effervescent emotion.” She celebrates a galaxy of exuberant figures. … [She] is concerned that exuberance “has not been a mainstay of psychological research” but sees signs that it is receiving more scholarly attention. She has produced an exuberant book.”
Family Caregiving in Mental Illness by Harriet P. Lefley, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1996. The author is a psychologist and the mother of a child living with a mental illness. This is a “bridge book” meant to bridge the gulf of understanding between families of the mentally ill and psychiatric professionals.
Grace Alliance Self-Help Resources: The Mental Health Grace Alliance is a Christian organization dedicated to building peer and lay-led mental health recovery resources, and support programs, making training accessible and affordable to anyone, anywhere, anytime as well as providing self-help resources. Among their resources for purchase is (1) Living Grace which is a 16-week personal or small group experience proven to reduce stress, depression, anxiety, etc., improve overall well-being, and renew faith. Filled with biblical and neuroscience insights and practical tools to improve life; (2) Family Grace which is a 16-week personal or small group experience to empower families and marriages to discover biblical and neuroscience insights and practical tools for their personal lives and to walk alongside their loved one’s challenging journey; and (3) Thrive Workbook which is an in-depth, self-directed whole-health guide proven to reduce depression, anxiety, etc., improve daily life and renew your life in Christ. For further information check out their website: https://mentalhealthgracealliance.org/
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Helping Someone with Mental Illness: A Compassionate Guide for Family, Friends, and Caregivers by Rosalynn Carter the wife of former President Jimmy Carter, and Susan K. Golant; New York City, Times Books, 1998. Laurie Flynn, Executive Director, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill writes: “An important resource for families, friends, and those facing the challenges of mental illness. It delivers its message with warmth, clarity, and candor.” C. Everett Koop, M.D., former Surgeon General of the United States writes: “Family and friends of persons with mental illness will want to turn to Mrs. Carter’s book first for empathy, information, and advice. This is an excellent guide.”
Hidden Victims: An Eight-Stage Healing Process for Families and Friends of the Mentally Ill by Julie Tallard Johnson, MSW, ACSW, Doubleday, 1988. Reviewer, Laurel Reinhardt, Ph.D., LP: “Hidden Victims, Hidden Healers is an excellent resource book for family and friends of people who are living with some form of mental or emotional disorder. Written in a no-nonsense, accessible style, and filled with true-life stories of others in this position, Hidden Victims, Hidden Healers offers the reader options without giving advice, lets the reader know that they are not alone in their difficulty, and suggests additional resources for both the reader and their loved one. Perhaps best of all is the permission which Ms. Johnson gives the reader to live their own life-being compassionate to a loved one does not mean sacrificing your own right to a happy and fulfilling life. As a fellow professional, as well as one who has herself been in this dilemma, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.”
How to Cope with Mental Illness in Your Family: A Self-Care Guide for Siblings, Offspring, and Parents by Diane T. Marsh and Rex Dickens, New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putman, 1997. Diane T. Marsh, a psychologist specializing in severe psychiatric disorders, and Rex Dickens, whose mother and three siblings have been affected, are longtime members of NAMI. The emphasis is on self-help and coping skills. Special focus on the variability of the effects of having a family member with a severe psychiatric disorder.*
How to Live with a Mentally Ill Person: A Handbook of Day-to-Day Strategies by Christine Adamec, New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1996. Book Description: If you think you are the only person who ever felt you could not bear another minute of caring for a mentally ill person, and wondered why this terribly unfair thing had happened to you, this book is for you. Caring for a mentally ill loved one presents a unique set of problems and challenges. This book shows you how to provide much-needed, effective, and compassionate care without sacrificing your own well-being or the needs of other family members. As the mother of a schizophrenic daughter, Christine Adamec knows firsthand the emotional, logistic, and financial difficulties caregivers face. Here, she draws on her own experiences and the shared experiences of others, as well as the practical guidance of mental health professionals, to provide you with the strategies and tactics you need to achieve sanity in your day-to-day life.
I Am Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help! Helping the Seriously Mentally Ill Accept Treatment by Xavier Amador, and Anna-Lisa Johanson. Reviewer, October 4, 2005: “Written by a clinical psychiatrist who deals with the mentally ill every day, I found this book to be very helpful and thorough. It covers understanding where your relative is coming from, helping them understand that they are sick, and finally, committing them to the hospital if necessary. I found it to be very informative and therapeutic, as my mother is a diagnosed paranoid-type schizophrenic. This is the best book on this subject I have found so far, it has answered many of my questions, and given me hope & solutions to a very difficult problem. Highly recommended!
The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom by Henri J. M. Nouwen, Doubleday, 1996. Book Description: “This is Henri Nouwen’s ‘secret journal.’ It was written during the most difficult period of his life when he suddenly lost his self-esteem, his energy to live and work, his sense of being loved, and even his hope in God. Although he experienced excruciating anguish and despair, he was still able to keep a journal in which he wrote a spiritual imperative to himself each day that emerged from his conversations with friends and supporters.”
Living with Manic-Depressive Illness: A Guidebook for Patients, Families, and Friends available through Depression Bipolar Support Alliance, www.dbsalliance.org.
Loving Someone With Bipolar Disorder by Julie A. Fast and John D. Preston, New Harbinger Publications, 2004. Editorial Review by Barbara Mackoff: Julie Fast and John Preston have written a groundbreaking book for couples who want to prevent manic depressive disorder from hijacking their relationship. Fast, a health writer diagnosed with bipolar illness and clinical psychologist Preston are ideal companions. …Once the medication has been prescribed, the key is studying the specific ways your partner is affected. This allows couples to develop pro-active strategies for treating and stabilizing mood swings and symptoms before they develop into full-blown crises. The techniques emphasize prevention, rather than putting out fires. … The author’s ideas are engaging, compassionate, and realistic–an oasis of relief and hope.”
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Manic-Depressive Illness by Frederick K. Goodwin and Kay Redfield Jamison, New York: Oxford University Press, 2 nd edition, 2006. Note: The most comprehensive text. 1100 pages in length in hardback and weighs over four pounds.
Mood Swings: Understand Your Emotional Highs & Lows and Achieve a More Balanced & Fulfilled Life by Paul Meier, M.D., Stephen Arterburn, M.Ed., and Frank Minirth, M.D., Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1999. Customer Review: “This book is written with the Christian in mind. People who struggle with mood swings will find a wealth of information and ideas on how to approach the problem. A terrific book that will make a great addition to any library!
New Hope For People With Bipolar Disorder by Jan Fawcett, MD, Bernard Golden, Ph.D., and Nancy Rosenfeld, Prima Publishing, 2000. Review by Alan Schatzberg, MD, Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University: This easy-to-read book demystifies the illness and teaches without scaring. A real addition to mental health literature!” For further information go online to web site www.primahealth.com.
New Hope For People With Depression by Marian Brodia, RN, Prima Publishing, 2001. Reviewer, Patty E. Fleener Web owner—Mental Health Today: “This book includes the latest information on depression: causes, symptoms, diagnosis, latest treatments—medication, complementary & alternative. Families, children, work, suicide prevention, new hope through research, and much more. I highly recommend this book to consumers and families if you are looking for facts needed in order to recover.” For further information go online to: www.primahealth.com.
The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon, Scribner, 2001. Kay Redfield Jamison, professor of psychiatry, at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and author of An Unquiet Mind writes of this book: “The Noonday Demon is an eloquent, harrowing account of melancholy and dread. It informs deeply in every manner – personal, scientific, historical, and political—about the roots, experience, and treatment of clinical depression. It is an important book about suffering, but an even more important one about hope.”
Overcoming Bipolar Disorder: A Comprehensive Workbook for Managing Your Symptoms and Achieving Your Life Goals by Evette J. Ludman, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist & Researcher.*
The Price of Greatness, Resolving the Creativity and Madness Controversy by Arnold M. Ludwig, New York: Guilford Press, 1995. Describes a detailed study of 1,004 creative individuals from the twentieth century concluding that manic-depressive illness and other mental disturbances are more common in creative artists.
Planning for the Future: Providing a Meaningful Life for a Child with a Disability After Your Death by Russell L. Mark, Arnold E. Grant, Suzanne M. Joseph, and Richard W. Fee, 3rd ed., Evanston, Ill: American Publishing Company, 1995. For anyone who is trying to plan for the future of a mentally disabled family member. The authors cover everything from SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, Medicare, and other government benefits to wills, trusts, estate planning, power of attorney, and nursing home expenses.*
Resurrecting the Person: Friendship and the Care of People with Mental Health Problems by John Swinton, Abingdon Press, 2000. This book explores ways of conceptually and practically separating people from their illnesses. In so doing it enables the ‘resurrection of the person who is often forgotten or overlooked in the process of mental health care.
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Surviving Manic Depression: A Manual On Bipolar Disorder For Patients, Families, And Providers by E. Fuller Torrey, MD, and Michael B. Knable, DO, Published by Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, 2002. Patty Duke, the actress and author of A Brilliant Madness: Living With Manic-Depressive Illness, writes: “This superb book is essential for everyone dealing with mental illness – patients, families, friends, co-workers and, most certainly, health care professionals. Surviving ManicDepression will be my reference book for all time.” Frank J. Konopka, with a family member suffering manic depression, writes: This is a book I wish no one had to read, but for those of us who have a loved one suffering from manic depression; this is the absolutely essential read.” Special Note: Torrey and Knable provide extensive appendixes listing and describing books, websites, videos, and other resources on bipolar disorder. Unlike most such lists, this one describes and rates the material listed.
Surviving Mental Illness: Stress, Coping, and Adaptation by Agnes B. Hatfield and Harriet P. Lefley, New York: Guilford Press, 1993. Reviewer: “Hatfield and Lefley have given us a unique and superb rendering of the patient’s experience suffering from schizophrenia. The book encompasses both scholarly reviews of the literature and scientific analyses of experiences as well as practical advice on how to respond to patients when they are psychotic and how patients can attempt to avoid relapse. The combination of professional exposition and first-person accounts is especially effective. Perhaps the most novel is the chapters dealing with the sufferer’s experience with the helpless onslaught of thinking disorders and emotional turmoil.” — John A. Talbott, MD, University of Maryland at Baltimore.
Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Consumer, and Providers by E. Fuller Torrey, MD, Harper Perennial, 1995, A Division of Harper Collins Publishers. Reviewer Joseph B. Mullen writes: “I come from a large family, a house with a lot of love. So when not just one—but two—of my siblings developed major mental illnesses, I struggled for years to understand them. Then several years ago I read this book and cried tears of recognition. At last, I finally understood things from the point of view of my brothers. Soon I had everyone in my family reading this book and truly it opened many eyes. Surviving Schizophrenia explodes many common myths about mental illness but more importantly, it shows families and loved ones how to cope. …Plus the resources are excellent. I highly recommend it to anyone who is even remotely interested in this topic.”
The Skipping Stone: Ripple Effects of Mental Illness on the Family by Mona Wasow, Palo Alto: Science and Behavioral Books, 1995. This is a lyrical summary of 100 interviews done with family members of individuals with serious mental illness. The author is a social worker and mother of a son who is severely mentally ill. Her chapters on grief, coping, and hope are excellent. Her understanding is beautifully and brutally frank.*
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This Fragile Life: A Mother’s Story of a Bipolar Son by Charlotte Pierce-Baker, Chicago Review Press, 2012. Author and Book Sketch: “This is an autobiography that weaves a fascinating story of mental illness resulting from an unpredictable mental disorder, race, family, the drive of African Americans to succeed, and a mother’s love for her son. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee. She and her husband did everything right when raising their son Mark: providing emotional support, the best education possible, and the freedom to choose his own path. At age 25, Mark was pursuing a postgraduate degree in film, living with his fiancée, and seemingly in control of his life, so Pierce-Baker never imagined her high-achieving son would wind up handcuffed, barely clothed, dirty, mad, and in jail. Mark’s bipolar disorder manifested late and included hospitalizations, calls in the night, pleas for money, jail, lawyers, prescriptions, doctors, alcohol and drug relapses, and continuous disputes about how to live and not live. The author, Charlotte Pierce-Baker, is a professor of women s studies, gender studies, and English at Vanderbilt University and the author of Surviving the Silence.”
Touched with Fire: Manic-depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament by Kay Redfield Jamison, Free Press Paperback, 1994, A Division of Simon & Schuster Inc. Review: “This is not a ‘self-help’ or simple information/education book. This is a study. The march of science in explaining human nature continues. In Touched With Fire, Jamison marshals a tremendous amount of evidence for the proposition that most artistic geniuses were (and are) manic depressives. This is a book of interest to scientists, psychologists, and artists struggling with the age-old question of whether psychological suffering is an essential component of artistic creativity. Drawing from the lives of artists such as Van Gogh, Byron, and Virginia Woolf, Jamison examines the links between manic-depression and creativity.”
Twelve Things To Remember In Times Of Sickness, Injury, Or Disability / Twelve Things To Do If Someone You Care For Is Ill Or Incapacitated by James E. Miller, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Willowgreen Publishing, 1995. For more information: 260/490.2222. This book is uniquely designed as two books in one. You hold the book facing you one way and find one of the above two titles and then read through to the halfway point in the book. Then turn the book over and you find the second of the above two titles.
When God Weeps: Why Our Sufferings Matter to the Almighty by Joni Eareckson Tada and Steve Estes; Paperback: 256 pages; Publisher: Zondervan (October 1, 2000). Review: “When God Weeps” is one of the absolute best books I’ve read concerning the issue of ‘Why do we suffer?!?’ and ‘Does it really matter to God?’ A friend recommended this book to me, as I have struggled with my own chronic illness and the whole ‘Why?’ ‘For what?’ ‘How come?’ mentality. Plainly put, suffering is hard. There is nothing ‘glorious’ about it. Since dealing with my disease and after reading this book, I’ve come to see that suffering takes us to a whole new level of God’s grace. It accomplishes things we may not truly understand in this life. It is a teacher, albeit a difficult one a lot of times, but it draws us closer to God. … Famed quadriplegic, Joni, is an inspiration to me. … She asks the hard questions, but doesn’t give ‘pat answers.’ This book is really more about the truths of God regarding suffering than just ‘suffering,’ itself. There is a difference. … Now listen, if you’re so heartbroken and feel really shattered and very fragile, you may not be ready to start reading books about ‘WHY?’ just yet. Instead, you may need to go to a trusted friend and pour your heart out to them and to God through prayer. I tried to read a ‘WHY?’ book once before I was really ready, and it just frustrated me all the more. God will let you know when the time is right. If you feel that you are ready, then this is a really wonderful book!”
We Heard the Angels of Madness: One Family’s Struggle with Manic Depression by Diane and Lisa Berger, New York: William Morrow, 1991. Paperback by Harper-Trade, 1992.
When Someone You Love Has a Mental Illness: A Handbook for Family, Friends, and Caregivers by Rebecca Woolis, New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Perigee Books, 1992. A quick and practical what-to-do reference guide for such subjects as “Handling Your Relatives Anger,” “Dealing with Bizarre Behavior,” “Preventing Suicide,” and “Rules for Living at Home or Visiting.”*
When Someone You Love Is Depressed: How to Help Your Loved One Without Losing Yourself by Laura E. Rosen and Xavier Amador, New York: The Free Press, 1996. Written for individuals who are depressed; an especially helpful feature is its focus on other family members who are affected by the person’s depression. Not specifically targeted at manic-depressive illness. Many such individuals suffer from recurrent depression, however, and in such cases, this book will be useful.
The Wounded Healer by Henri J.M. Nouwen, Garden City Doubleday & Company, Inc., /Image Books, 1972. A Roman Catholic theologian’s reflection on how, in our own woundedness, we can become a source of life for others. …Emphasizing that which is in humanity common to both minister and believer, this woundedness can serve as a source of strength and healing when counseling others. …It is his contention that ministers are called to recognize the sufferings of their time in their own hearts and make that recognition the starting point of their service. …For Nouwen, ministers must be willing to go beyond their professional role and leave themselves open as fellow human beings with the same wounds and suffering—in the image of Christ. In other words, we heal from our own wounds.”
*Review adapted from reviews presented in APPENDIX A of Surviving ManicDepression by E. Fuller Torrey, M.D. and Michael B. Knable, D.O., Published by Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, 2002.
SPECIAL NOTE: Most of these books are in print. Many can be purchased and/or ordered in local book stores, ordered by way of Amazon.com, or checked out at local libraries. Out-of-print books can often be found over the Internet: www.bookfinder.com