Monday, May 30, 2011

The 20 Greatest Memoirs of Mental Illness

modernorphan:

ones I’ve read.

  1. Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
  2. Hurry Down Sunshine by Micheal Greenberg
  3. Blue Genes by Christopher Lukas
  4. Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel
  5. Wasted by Marya Hornbacher
  6. An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison
  7. Just Checking by Emily Colas
  8. Darkness Visible by William Styron
  9. Skin Game by Caroline Kettlewell
  10. Unholy Ghost edited by Nell Casey
  11. The Quiet Room by Lori Schiller with Amanda Bennett
  12. Musical Chairs by Jen Knox
  13. Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp
  14. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
  15. Electroboy by Andy Behrman
  16. Sickened by Julie Gregory
  17. When Rabbit Howls by Truddi Chase
  18. A Drinking Life by Pete Hamill
  19. Lucky by Alice Sebold
  20. Stalking Irish Madness by Patrick Tracey

looks like i need to get busy. half.com, here i come. seriously though, this is a great list of books for anyone either with a mental illness, who loves someone with a mental illness, or simply has a thirst to understand something people usually write off without a second thought. currently i’m reading a memoir about manic-depression entitled manic: a memoir by terri cheney, and some of the prose is absolutely breathtaking.

as a personal side note, kay redfield jamison is one of the MOST influential people in my life. she is a wonderful author, and one of the strongest people i feel i’ve gotten to “know” through her works. i’d recommend ANYTHING she’s written:

touched with fire: manic-depressive illness and the artistic temperment
night falls fast: understanding suicie
an unquiet mind: an autobiograpy
exuberance: the passion for life

or, if you’re feeling REALLY passionate you can rifle through the thick-as-a-weapon, definitive scholastic textbook she co-authored with frederick k. goodwin appropriately titled manic-depressive illness.

as you can see they're all well read.

as you can see, they’re all well read. absolutely life changing.

Knowledge is power, people. Seriously.

(Source: mollyinrecovery)

Posted at 3:54 PM 129 notes Reblogged from modernorphan Tags: mental illness books reading empowerment

Notes

  1. drewdlebug reblogged this from fuckyeahreading
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  3. dustanddreams reblogged this from thefranticsearch
  4. jillius reblogged this from fuckyeahreading
  5. squeezeboxbaby reblogged this from fuckyeahreading and added:
    The Bell Jar is way more intense than Running With Scissors. This is a stupid list.
  6. chadssocks reblogged this from fuckyeahreading
  7. maybewedontexist reblogged this from modernorphan and added:
    power, people. Seriously.
  8. modernorphan reblogged this from mollyinrecovery and added:
    ones I’ve read....looks like i need to get busy. half.com, here i come. seriously though,...
  9. becky-van-bruiser reblogged this from fuckyeahreading
  10. thelovelyjazmin reblogged this from fuckyeahreading