News Flash

October 1, 2020

Mental Illness Awareness Week, or the first full week in October, was established by Congress in 1990 as a dedicated time to raise awareness, provide support, educate the public, and fight stigmas associated with mental illness. To aid in this mission, our Librarians have provided a list of titles to help individuals, both adult and children, to expand their experiences and understanding of mental illness. For more information on Mental Illness Awareness Week, visit the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) website at: https://www.nami.org/get-involved/awareness-events/mental-illness-awareness-week.

Adult

Building a Life Worth Living: A Memoir by Marsha M. Linehan

Traces the author’s journey from a suicidal teen to the award-winning developer of the life-saving dialectical behavioral therapy, describing the hardscrabble existence she endured to get her education and the beneficial impact of Zen spirituality on her life quality. 

Freedom from Family Dysfunction: A Guide of Healing Families Battling Addiction or Mental Illness by Kenneth Perlmutter

Provides a healing solution for people caught in the chaos of a dysfunctional family struggling with the addiction or mental illness of one of its members. Using vivid portrayals of the pain and powerlessness, readers are provided a step-by-step method to promote health in their systems and heal themselves. 

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker

Tells the heartrending story of a midcentury American family with 12 children, 6 of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science’s great hope in the quest to understand the disease. 

Inferno: A Memoir of Motherhood and Madness by Catherine Cho

Traces the debut author's identity-shattering experience with postpartum psychosis, describing her commitment into a New Jersey psychiatric ward and her efforts to reconstruct her sense of self as a London wife and daughter of Korean immigrants. 

Insane: America's Criminal Treatment of Mental Illness by Alisa Roth

An urgent exposé of the mental-health crisis in America's courts and prisons reveals that nearly half of the nation's inmates are actually afflicted by a psychiatric problem and that a high percentage of crimes are related to mental disorders, drawing on intimate stories that reveal how the criminal justice system worsens mental illness and could be improved through more humane approaches. 

Like Crazy: Life with My Mother and Her Invisible Friends by Dan Mathews

A PETA Director of Campaigns describes how his elder care for his characteristically outlandish mother was shaped by haphazard home renovations, his mother’s late-in-life diagnosis with schizophrenia and their community’s compassionate support. 

My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward by Mark Lukach

A memoir of a young marriage that is defined by mental illness describes how the author's wife suffered mysterious psychotic breaks on either side of having a child, examining how the challenges of mental illness raise profound questions about love and responsibility. 

Surviving Schizophrenia: A Family Manual by E. Fuller Torrey

An indispensable guide for those afflicted by schizophrenia as well those who care for them, Surviving Schizophrenia covers every aspect of the condition and sheds new light on an often-misunderstood illness. 

The Scar: A Personal History of Depression and Recovery by Mary Cregan

A candid memoir interweaves medical and cultural history into wrenching personal insights, in an unstinting portrait of the pain and ongoing stigma of clinical depression that shares compassionate, hopeful recommendations for illness management. 

The Unspeakable Mind: Stories of Trauma and Healing from the Frontlines of PTSD Science by Shaili Jain

A Stanford professor and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder specialist presents an informative assessment of PTSD that examines the current scientific research and clinical advances that are shaping how the disorder is understood and treated. 

Teens

Rewire Your Anxious Brain for Teens by Debra Kissen, Ph.D.

Anxiety is a huge problem among today's teens, that's why teens need tangible tips and tools they can use every day to manage fears, stress, and worry. In Rewire Your Anxious Brain for Teens, four anxiety specialists offer practical and essential skills grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), neuroscience, and mindfulness to help teen readers "rewire" their anxious brain and get back to living their lives. 

Beneath the Surface: A teen's guide to reaching out when you or your friend is in crisis by Kristi Hugstad

Depression and mental illness don't discriminate. Even in the most picture-perfect life, confusion and turmoil are often lurking beneath the surface. For a teenager in a world where anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses are commonplace, life can sometimes feel impossible. Whether or not you or someone you love is suffering from any of these issues, it's important to be able to recognize the warning signs of mental illness and know where to turn for help. 

Stuff That's Loud: A teen's guide to unspiraling when OCD gets noisy by Ben Sedly and Lisa Coyne

This is a fun and unique book filled with engaging illustrations to help teens break free from the intrusive thoughts and behaviors that accompany OCD. With this guide, teens will find validation and support, learn mindfulness tips to "unspiral" when OCD gets loud, and live a full and meaningful life.

Middle Grades

Mindfulness and Meditation: Handling Life With a Calm and Focused Mind by Whitney Stewart

From hormones to homework, parents to peers, health issues to bad habits, life can be a pressure cooker leading to anxiety and even thoughts of suicide. How can we find relief? Author Whitney Stewart introduces readers to the practice of mindfulness. 

Your Brain Needs a Hug: Life, Love, Mental Health, and Sandwiches  by Rea Earl

This book offers advice and coping strategies on such topics as mental health, social media, family, friendship, and getting through difficult days. 

Mindfulness for Kids with ADHD by Debra Burdick

Mindfulness for kids with ADHD offers fun and accessible mindfulness exercises to help your child successfully navigate all areas of life. The activities in this easy-to-use workbook will help your child develop self-awareness and self-reflection.

Children

Feeling Sad by Amber Bullis

In this book, readers will discover how to recognize sadness in themselves and others, how to best respond to it, and how to communicate about these feelings. Additional titles in the Mindful Emotions series include: Feeling Mad, Feeling Happy, Feeling Nervous, and Feeling Afraid.  

Breathe Like a Bear by Kira Wiley

This book provides thirty exercises to help readers find calm, gain focus, and feel energized during the day, and encourages establishing a consistent mindfulness practice at home and on the go. 

Calm: Mindfulness for Kids by Wynne Kinder

This book shares mindfulness activities that teach children how to focus their thoughts and pay attention, with care, to one moment at a time, including breathing exercises, moving the body to unwind stress, and taking a walk in the woods.