I’ve read a lot of books in the clinical/abnormal psych genre the past few years. A LOT.

Some of these are memoirs.

Some are textbook-style books.

Some are therapy books or workbooks.

Some are even works of fiction starring main characters with mental illness.

To take a look at books I’ve read, I started to created a list! Check it out!

Bipolar Disorder:

1. An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison
2. Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament by Kay Redfield Jamison
3. Robert Lowell, Setting the River on Fire: A Study of Genius, Mania, and Character by Kay Redfield Jamison
4. Manic-Depressive Illness: Bipolar Disorders and Recurrent Depression by Kay Redfield Jamison & Frederick Goodwin (Textbook with 2 volumes)
5. Madness: A Bipolar Life by Marya Hornbacher
6. Manic: A Memoir by Terri Cheney
7. A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic-depressive Illness by Patty Duke & Gloria Hochman
8. Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo and Me by Ellen Forney
9. Rock Steady: Brilliant Advice from My Bipolar Life by Ellen Forney
10. Gorilla and the Bird: A Memoir of Madness and a Mother’s Love by Zach McDermott
11. My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward: A Memoir by Mark Lukach
12. Birth of a New Brain: Healing from Postpartum Bipolar Disorder by Dyane Harwood
13. This Fragile Life: A Mother’s Story of a Bipolar Son by Charlotte Pierce-Baker
14. The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Bipolar Disorder: Using DBT to Regain Control of Your Emotions and Your Life by Sheri Van Dijk
15. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Bipolar Disorder by Monica Basco & A. John Rush
16. Healthy Living with Bipolar Disorder by International Bipolar Foundation
17. Bipolar, Not so Much: Understanding your Mood Swings and Depression by Chris Aiken, MD & James Phelps, MD
18. Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick (Fiction)
19. Rx by Elizabeth Braswell (Comic book style memoir)
20. Currently reading:
    1. Bipolar 101: A Practical Guide to Identifying Triggers, Managing Medications, Coping with Symptoms & More by Ruth White & John Preston
    2. Mental: Lithium, Love & Losing My Mind by Jaime Lowe

Anxiety:

1. Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
2. First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Journey Through Anxiety by Sarah Wilson

OCD:

1. The Man Who Couldn’t Stop: OCD and the True Story of a Life Lost in Thought by David Adam
2. Turtles all the Way Down by John Green (YA Fiction)

Depression:

1. The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon
2. Boy Meets Depression: Or Life Sucks and then you Live by Kevin Breel

Trauma:

1. Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky (YA Fiction)

Eating Disorders:

1. Body Positive Power: Because Life is Already Happening and You Don’t Need Flat Abs to Live It by Megan Crabbe

Suicide:

1. Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
2. Night Falls Fast by Kay Redfield Jamison
3. Suicidal: Why we Kill Ourselves by Jesse Bering

Substance Use:

1. Beautiful Boy by David Sheff
2. The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp (YA Fiction)

Borderline Personality Disorder:

1. Coping with BPD: DBT and CBT Skills to Soothe the Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder by Blaise Aguirre MD & Gillian Galen, PsyD
2. Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

Schizophrenia & Schizoaffective Disorder:

1. The Center Cannot Hold : My Journey Through Madness by Elyn R. Saks
2. The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays by Esme Wang
3. Bitter Medicine: A Graphic Memoir of Mental Illness by Clem Martini & Olivier Martini

Therapy:

1. How to be Happy or at Least Less Sad: A Creative Workbook by Lee Crutchley
2. Letters to a Young Therapist by Mary Pipher
3. Currently reading: 
   1. The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists & Their Patients by Irvin D. Yalom, MD

Textbooks:

1. Stahl’s Essential Psychopharmacology: Neuroscientific Basis and Practical Applications by Stephen M. Stahl (I’ve read certain parts… I really like Chapter 6 on Mood Disorders with how it creates visual illustrations of various types of bipolar disorder.) I see the Prescriber’s Guide version of this in pretty much every psychiatry office.

How many of these have you read? Are there any suggestions you have for what should be on my list to read next?