Mental Health Book Reviews

Mental health book reviews are published every Wednesday on MH@H. I review non-fiction books on topics related to mental health and illness, and I particularly enjoy reviewing books by indie authors. My goal with reviews is to help readers learn something from a book even if they don’t end up going on to read it.

I’m a Top Reviewer on NetGalley. I also post reviews on Goodreads and LibraryThing.

This page includes the books I’ve reviewed so far. I’ve added subject tags in italics if a book’s subject isn’t clear from the title.

The names of authors who are fellow bloggers are hyperlinked to their blogs. Their books cover some additional genres outside of what I typically review. You can also find them on my author friends shelf on Goodreads.

If there’s a book you’d like me to consider reviewing, you can get in touch with me via my Contact page.

Mental Illness Book Reviews

Addiction

• In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Maté
• The Mindfulness Workbook for Addiction, 2nd ed., by Rebecca E. Williams and Julie S. Kraft

Porn Addiction

• He’s a Porn Addict… Now What? by Tony Overbay and Joshua Shea
• I Am Reading This Book About Porn Addiction for a Friend by Joshua Shea
• Porn and the Pandemic by Joshua Shea
• The Addiction Nobody Will Talk About by Joshua Shea

Anxiety

• Calm & Sense by Wendy Leeds
• Everything Isn’t Terrible by Kathleen Smith
• Freedom from Health Anxiety by Karen Lynn Cassiday
• How to Be Yourself by Ellen Hendriksen
• Mindful Somatic Awareness for Anxiety Relief by Michele L. Blume
• Overcoming Anticipatory Anxiety by Sally M. Winston and Martin N. Seif
• Red Face by Russell Norris
• Show Your Anxiety Who’s Boss by Joel Minden
• The Anxiety Book for Trans People by Freiya Benson
• The Anxiety Skills Workbook by Stefan G. Hoffmann
• The Panic Attack Relief Workbook by Mayra Diaz
• What Happened to Make You Anxious? by Jaime Castillo
• You Got This by Caroline Foran

Bipolar Disorder

• An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison
• Bipolar Me by Janet Coburn
• Birth of A New Brain by Dyane Harwood
• Braving Bipolar by Stephanie Schlosser
• Bring Me To Light by Eleanor Segall
• But Deliver Me from Crazy by Katie R. Dale
• Manic Man by Jason Wegner
• Mindfulness for Bipolar Disorder by William R. Marchand
• My Bipolar Mind by Samantha Steiner
• My Bipolar Mind: Surviving the Chaos by Samantha Steiner
• Polishing the Facets of Life with Bipolar by E.M. Sebree
• Spiders, Vampires and Jail Keys by Brooke O’Neill
• The Ups and Downs – A Bipolar Picture Book by Kat Owens

Depression

• Are We There Yet? by Elizabeth Jones (memoir, recovery, faith)
• Dealing with Depression by Jan Marsh
• Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson (memoir, humour)
• Getting By by Jack Trelance
• Have You Heard the Sound of Your Own Voice? by Krithika Chandrasekar
• Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me by Anna Mehler Paperny
• How to Be Miserable by Randy J. Paterson
• How to Stop Feeling so Damn Depressed by Jonas A. Horwitz
• How to Tell Depression to Piss Off by James Withey
• Lost Connections by Johann Hari
• Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
• The ACT Workbook for Depression & Shame by Matthew W. McKay, Michael Jason Greenberg, and Patrick J. Fanning
• The Depression Toolkit by William Knaus, Alex Korb, Patricia J. Robinson, Lisa M. Schab, and Kirk D. Strosahl
• The Inflamed Mind by Edward Bullmore

Eating Disorders

• From Famine to Feast by K. Michelle Pahl (bulimia nervosa)
• Stand Tall Little Girl by Hope Virgo (anorexia nervosa)

OCD

• Everything You Need to Know About OCD by Lynne M. Drummond
• Relationship OCD by Sheva Rajaee
• Rewire Your OCD Brain by Catherine M. Pittman and William H. Youngs
• The Mindfulness Workbook for OCD by Jon Hershfield and Tom Corboy
• The Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Diary by Charlotte Dennis
• The Self-Compassion Workbook for OCD by Kimberley Quinlan

Personality Disorders

• Complex Borderline Personality Disorder by Daniel J. Fox
• I Hate You – Don’t Leave Me by Jerold J. Kreisman and Hal Strauss (borderline personality disorder)

Psychotic Disorders

• Good Days and Bad Days by Mio Angelo
• My Beautiful Psychosis by Emma Goude
• My Brother’s Journey by Marie Abanga
• My Colour-Coded Life by Megan Jackson Hall
• Raising the Alarm by Arron Whittaker
• The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Weijun Wang

Stigma

• A Series of Unfortunate Stereotypes by Lucy Nichol
• No One Cares About Crazy People by Ron Powers 
• Nobody’s Normal by Roy Richard Grinker
• The Stigma Effect by Patrick Corrigan
• Written Off by Philip T. Yanos
• Your Mental Health and You by Sandy Pace

Suicide

• Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternative to Suicide for Teens, Freaks & Other Outlaws by Kate Bornstein
• Suicidal: Why We Kill Ourselves by Jesse Bering
• The Suicidal Thoughts Workbook by Kathryn Hope Gordon

Trauma, PTSD, c-PTSD, and Dissociative Disorders

• Brain Storm by Shelley Kolton (dissociative identity disorder)
• Ghosts Within by Garry Leech (PTSD)
• Healing Sexual Trauma Workbook by Erika Shershun
• How to Find Yourself in the Middle of the Noise: Healing from Childhood Trauma by Sajida Haddad
• If I Could Tell You How It Feels by Alexis Rose (complex trauma)
• Liar, Liar by Laurie Katz (sexual assault)
• Overcoming Trauma and PTSD workbook by Sheela Raja
• Shattered by the Darkness by Gregory Williams (childhood sexual assault)
• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
• Untangled by Alexis Rose (complex trauma)
• You Will Never Be Normal by Catherine Klatzker (dissociative identity disorder)

Therapy-Related Books

• A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook by Bob Stahl & Elisha Goldstein
• Be Mighty by Jill A. Stoddard (acceptance and commitment therapy)
• Don’t Believe Everything You Feel by Robert L. Leahy (anxiety, depression)
• Escaping the Emotional Roller Coaster by Patricia Zurita Ona (ACT)
• Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life by Steven C. Hayes (ACT)
• The Healing Emotional Pain Workbook by Matthew McKay, Patrick Fanning, Erica Pool, and Patricia E. Zurita Ono (process-based CBT)
• Mindfulness for Insomnia by Catherine Polan Orzech and William H. Moorcroft
• Overcoming Avoidance Workbook by Daniel F. Gros (transdiagnostic behaviour therapy)
• Pocket Therapy by Sarah Crosby
• Pocket Therapy for Emotional Balance by Matthew McKay, Jeffrey C. Wood, and Jeffrey Brantley (DBT—emotional regulation)
• Secret Keeper by Marcia Kostoff
• Sh*t I Say to Myself by Katie Krimer (negative self-talk)
• Stop Avoiding Stuff by Matthew S. Boone, Jennifer Gregg, and Lisa W. Coyne (ACT)
• Super Simple CBT by Matthew McKay, Martha Davis, and Patrick Fanning
• The ACT Workbook for Anger by Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O’Connell
• The ACT Workbook for Perfectionism by Jennifer Kemp
• The Anxiety and Depression Workbook by Michael A. Tompkins (CBT)
• The Anxious Perfectionist by Clarissa W. Ong and Michael P. Twohig (ACT)
• The Dialectical Behavior Skills Workbook by Matthew McKay, Jeffrey C. Wood, and Jeffrey Brantley
• The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris (acceptance and commitment therapy)
• What Makes You Stronger by Louise L. Hayes, Joseph V. Ciarrochi, and Ann Bailey (acceptance and commitment therapy)
• When Life Hits Hard by Russ Harris (grief, acceptance and commitment therapy)

Other Books on Mental Illness

• ADHD 101: Parents Edition by Sandy Pace
• Good Reasons for Bad Feelings by Randolph Nesse (evolutionary psychiatry)
• Healing by Thomas Insel (mental health care system)
• I Died So I Could Live by Wendy Shipman (depression, trauma, recovery)
• I Will Not Be My Mental Illness by Karina Pommainville-Odell (recovery)
• It’s Ok to Not Be Ok by Kim Lamontagne (mental health anthology)
• Losing Our Minds: The Challenge of Defining Mental Illness by Lucy Foulkes
• On Mental Illness by The School of Life
• Reading Our Minds: The Rise of Big Data in Psychiatry by Daniel Barron
• Reflections: My Mad Memoirs! by Kristina Bryson (anxiety, humour)
• Safe: A Memoir by Elspeth Roake (trauma, attachment, self-harm)
• Safe, Wanted, and Loved by Patrick Dylan (bipolar, psychosis, stigma)
• Shame Ate My Soul by Susan Walz (misdiagnosis, benzo addiction, stigma)
• Strangers to Ourselves by Rachel Aviv
• The Silent Scream by Maria Alfieri (despair, suffering, and hope)
• Triumph by Trepanation by Nina Rabinowitz (depression, anxiety, brain tumour)
• The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health by Rheeda Walker
• You Are Not Alone: The NAMI Guide to Navigating Mental Health by Ken Duckworth

Psychology & Wellness Book Reviews

• 52 Small Changes for the Mind by Brett Blumenthal

• A Fearless Heart by Thupten Jinpa (compassion)

• Be Kind by Melissa Burmester and Jaclyn Lindsey
• Blackness Interrupted: Black Psychology Matters by Nicól Osborne and Tamera Gittens
• Bright-Sided by Barbara Ehrenreich (toxic positivity)

• Calm the F*ck Down by Sarah Knight
• Collective Illusions by Todd Rose (social psychology)

• Decolonizing Wellness by Dalia Kinsey (QTBIPOC, body image, diet culture)

• Emotional Agility by Susan David

• From Hardened to Healed by Debi Silber (betrayal trauma)
• F*ck No by Sarah Knight (assertiveness)

• I Lost My Little Apricot by Melody Finch (miscarriage grief)
• Introducing Psychology: A Graphic Guide by Nigel C. Benson

• Living with Vaginismus by Victoria Johnston

• Mindful as F*ck by Emily Horn
• Mindfulness Workbook for Self-Love by Joel Black
• My Life in Lists by Nicole Barlettano
• My Wellness Toolbox by Alison Swift

• Nonviolent Communication by Marshall B. Rosenberg

• Overcoming Stress-Induced Brain Fog by Jill Weber
• Own It by Caroline Foran (self-confidence)

• Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach
• Radical Compassion by Tara Brach
• Remember by Lisa Genova (memory)
• Resilient by Rick Hanson

• Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff
• Spite: The Upside of Your Dark Side by Simon McCarthy-Jones
• Stop Overthinking Your Relationship by Alicia Muñoz

• The Better Boundaries Workbook by Sharon Martin
• The Black Woman’s Guide to Overcoming Domestic Violence by Shayonne J. Moore-Lobran and Robyn L. Gobin
• The Book of Joy by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu
• The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
• The Gratitude Explorer Workbook by Kristi Nelson
• The Gratitude Project by Jeremy Adam Smith et al.
• The Handbook for Highly Sensitive People by Mel Collins
• The Happiness Diary by Barbara A. Kipfer
• The Illustrated Book of Mindful Meditations for Mindless Moments by Courtney E. Ackerman
• The Introvert Advantage by Marti Olsen Laney
• The Jackass Whisperer by Scott and Alison Stratten
• The More or Less Definitive Guide to Self-Care by Anna Borges
• The Night the Lights Went Out by Drew Magary (traumatic brain injury memoir)
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
• This Book Will Make You Fall Asleep from Andrews McMeel Publishing

• Unmasking Autism by Devon Price

• Wherever You Go There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn

• You, Happier by Daniel G. Amen
• Your Brain, Explained by Marc Dingman
• Your Wellness Toolbox by Ali Swift

Miscellaneous Non-Fiction

• 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari
• Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (memoir, apartheid)
• Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson (humour, memoir, depression)
• Musings on the Murky Dating and Relationships Terrain by Marie Abanga (memoir)
• Quack Quack: The Threat of Pseudoscience by Joe Schwarcz
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo (racism)
• You Don’t Look Sick by Kristen Dutkiewicz (multiple sclerosis)

Poetry

• All She Wrote by Paula Light
• Bottled Memories by David Ritter (addiction & recovery)
• I Am the Architect of My Own Destruction by Juansen Dizon
• My Heart’s Song by Maria Pratico
• Swinging Sanity by N.F. Mirza

Fiction

• All the Lights Above Us by M.B. Henry
• Inside of Me by Wendy Shipman (mental health fiction)
• The Balance Between Life and Death by Elizabeth Holland (mental health fiction)
• The Vintage Bookshop of Memories by Elizabeth Holland (fiction)

• Novels by Melody Finch: the Learners at Love series
  • We Hide What We Hate About Ourselves
  • Where Is This Place They Call “Home?”
  • This Voyage of a Lifetime

• Novels by Paula Light
  • Fiona’s Fling, written as Anna Fondant (romance)
  • Ghosted: Disappearing Acts
  • Switching Positions (political romantic comedy)

Where to Find Free Books

Reading is a wonderful thing. Even if money is tight, that doesn’t have to get in the way of reading. Here are a few ways to get your read on for free.