10 Books To Read About Mental Health Journeys
Mental health disorders can be isolating, both for the individuals who develop the conditions and for their loved ones. Reading popular mental health books can help people understand that they are not alone, and that a more hopeful future is possible.
Contact Time Wellness Centers today to learn more about mental health treatment in Arkansas.
10 Popular Mental Health Books
The 10 books below include both fiction and nonfiction works that touch upon a range of topics related to mental health, including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, trauma, psychosis, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and autism
This is by no means a comprehensive list of valuable books about mental health disorders, nor is it intended as a ranking of these books. The 10 presented here are simply examples of well-regarded and popular mental health books, organized in alphabetical order by the author’s last name.
1. Brain On Fire: My Month of Madness (Susannah Cahalan)
In 2009, when she was a 24-year-old reporter for the New York Post, Susannah Calahan suddenly began to experience paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions. These symptoms were accompanied by seizures and numbness on one side of her body.
This book recounts the effort to identify the cause of her physical and psychological distress, which involved multiple misdiagnoses until she was correctly identified as having an autoimmune condition called anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.
2. When Things Fall Apart (Pema Chödrön)
This is a collection of talks by Pema Chödrön, an American-born Buddhist nun who has written dozens of books on compassion, transformation, fearlessness, and inner peace.
When Things Fall Apart does not directly address specific mental illnesses, but it provides actionable guidance for maintaining emotional stability during particularly challenging moments. Her foundation’s website describes her insights as “heart advice for difficult times … [including] radical and compassionate advice for what to do when things fall apart in our lives.”
3. Willow Weep for Me: A Black Woman’s Journey Through Depression (Nana-Ama Danquah)
Nana-Ama Danquah first began to develop depression symptoms at age 22, shortly after the birth of her daughter. Though she feared she was “going crazy,” she initially attempted to hide her suffering and maintain a façade of strength and stability.
Eventually, she connected with two other black women who were dealing with similar struggles. They encourage and support her as she addresses her history of trauma in an attempt to achieve true healing.
A Kirkus review noted that “While there is no shortage of books describing long struggles with depression, Danquah’s one of the first works to focus on the needs and experiences of black women suffering from clinical depression.”
4. Tilly in Technicolor (Mazey Eddings)
At the outset of this young adult (YA) novel, Tilly Twomley is dealing with burnout after barely getting through high school due to her difficulties with executive functioning. While living in Europe for a summer internship, she meets Oliver Clark, a boy with autism.
The author’s website describes the story thusly: “As the duo’s neurodiverse connection grows, they learn that some of the best parts of life can’t be planned, and are forced to figure out what that means as their disastrously wonderful summer comes to an end.”
5. What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma (Stephanie Foo)
After months of daily panic attacks, Stephanie Foo was diagnosed with complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). As she attempted to educate herself about her condition, she discovered that most of the information she found made her feel “pathologized, stigmatized and alone.”
She promised herself that once she had begun to heal from her traumatic past, “I would write the book I so wanted to read when I was first diagnosed — a stigma-busting, kind, first-person account with real science and solutions.” What My Bones Know is that book.
6. Man’s Search for Meaning (Viktor Frankl)
Viktor Frankl was a psychiatrist and neurologist who was imprisoned in four Nazi concentration camps – Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Dachau, and Theresienstadt – between 1942-1945.
Man’s Search for Meaning, which was first published in 1946, recounts his experiences and those of other prisoners. He explores their psychological reactions during and after their imprisonment in an attempt to explain how a person can maintain their mental health in even the most challenging of times.
A joint survey by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club identified Man’s Search for Meaning as one of the 10 most influential books in the U.S.
7. Turtles All the Way Down (John Green)
This bestselling YA novel follows Aza, a teen with anxiety and OCD, as she and her friends attempt to solve a mystery involving a missing billionaire. John Green said he used his lifelong experiences with both mental health conditions to inform his depiction of Aza.
Several reviewers and mental health experts have praised the novel for its accurate portrayal of teen mental health challenges. USA Today called Turtles All the Way Down, “A thoughtful look at mental illness and a debilitating obsessive-compulsive disorder that doesn’t ask but makes you feel the constant struggles of its main character.”
The novel was first published in 2017, and a film adaptation was released on HBO Max in 2024.
8. An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness (Kay Redfield Jamison)
Kay Redfield Jamison is a clinical psychologist who specializes in bipolar disorder, a condition that she also has. An Unquiet Mind traces her life beginning with her childhood (she was born in 1946) and continuing through the mid-1990s, when the book was published.
In a review for NPR, Melody Moezzi – who also has bipolar disorder – referred to the memoir as “without a doubt, the most brilliant and brutally honest book I’ve ever read about bipolar disorder.”
“I’ve read nothing else that has better captured the torment and elation of this strange illness,” Moezzi wrote, “nor have I ever felt compelled to recommend any other book on the topic to ‘outsiders.’”
9. I’m Glad My Mom Died (Jennette McCurdy)
Jeanette McCurdy is a former actress who is perhaps best known for her role on the Nickelodeon sitcom iCarly, which aired from 2007-2012. The title of this memoir alludes to McCurdy’s experiences growing up with an abusive mother, who died in 2013.
In the book, she also discusses her mistreatment at the hands of television executives, as well as her struggles with both eating disorders and alcoholism. A Kirkus review from 2022 called McCurdy’s memoir “The heartbreaking story of an emotionally battered child delivered with captivating candor and grace.”
10. The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness (Elyn R. Saks)
Published in 2007, The Center Cannot Hold recounts the author’s experiences living with paranoid schizophrenia. Time magazine characterized it as “a stereotype-shattering look at a tenacious woman whose brain is her best friend and her worst enemy.”
A professor of law, psychology, psychiatry, and behavioral sciences, Elyn R. Saks first began to have concerning symptoms in childhood, though she was not diagnosed until she was in law school.
The book includes stark descriptions of several psychotic episodes, multiple hospitalizations (including periods of being placed in restraints), and the author’s long effort to find the right medication and therapy.
Learn More About Mental Health Treatment in Arkansas
Time Wellness of Arkansas is a trusted source of personalized care for adults who have been living with mental illnesses and co-occurring substance use disorders (addictions). Treatment options at our center include an inpatient program, a partial hospitalization program (PHP), an intensive outpatient program (IOP), and virtual care.
To learn more about how we can help you or a loved one, or to schedule a free assessment, please visit our Admissions page or call us today.