Building mental wellness on a foundation of strength
Over the last three years (wow, has it been that long?), I've read and reviewed a lot of books. Here are a few quotes that stood out for me. No One Cares About Crazy People In No One Cares About Crazy People, Ron Powers intertwines a sweeping history of mental illness stigma with the stories… Continue reading Interesting Book Quotes from Past Reviews
But Deliver Me From Crazy by Katie R. Dale is a memoir of living with bipolar disorder. You may know Katie from her blog, Bipolar Brave. She also contributed a story about bipolar I to my book Making Sense of Psychiatric Diagnosis. The book begins when Katie was in high school, when her illness first… Continue reading Book Review: But Deliver Me From Crazy
When I begin reading Sexual Intellectual Female by Regina G. Hanson, things seemed to be going well. She explored a range of sexual orientations, pointed out the problems with abstinence-based sex ed, and challenged the pressure on women to have kids. Then the wheels fell off. She writes that author Gina Tomaine, in an article… Continue reading Advice to Authors: When In Doubt, Google It
21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari was recommended to me by Nick of Fiction & Ideas after I reviewed Timothy Snyder's book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. This will be even less of review than I usually do; more of a mental chewing over what I read. The… Continue reading Book Review: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Nobody's Normal: How Culture Created the Stigma of Mental Illness is written by Roy Richard Grinker, an anthropology professor at The George Washington University. Autism and cross-cultural psychiatry are listed as areas of expertise on his faculty page. He's the father of an autistic daughter, who he refers to a number of times throughout the… Continue reading Book Review: Nobody’s Normal
Bottled Memories by David Ritter is a short book (40 pages) of poetry capturing both active addiction and the process of recovery. While the poems relate to his own experiences, there are themes many others will relate to, including the lure of "one more," "praying to the porcelain throne," and doing the walk of shame.… Continue reading Book Review: Bottled Memories
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Dr. Gabor Maté offers powerful insights into the vulnerable, human side of addiction. It draws on his encounters with patients while working as a staff physician at the Portland Hotel, an ultra-low barrier supported housing building in Vancouver's downtown eastside, Canada's poorest postal code. Ultra-low barrier housing like… Continue reading Book Review: In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
Calm the F*ck Down by Sarah Knight is part of her series of No Fucks Given Guides. I've previously reviewed her book F*ck No, and she was one of the earlier adopters of swearing in book titles. The book begins with a note on the title, saying it's meant to be motivational rather than being… Continue reading Book Review: Calm the F*ck Down
The Illustrated Book of Mindful Meditations for Mindless Moments by Courtney E. Ackerman aims to help you be a little more mindful with the basic tasks you're doing on a day to day basis. Each mindful moment is laid out in a 2-page spread, with a page of brief text (as in a couple of… Continue reading Book Review: The Illustrated Book of Mindful Meditations for Mindless Moments
Ghosted: Disappearing Acts is the latest novel by Paula Light of Light Motifs II. It's part mystery, part suspense, and part James Bond, with a twist of romance. The book opens with main character Lily finding out that her brother Jack has died under unusual circumstances in Aruba. The first chapter is delightfully titled "Dead… Continue reading Book Review: Ghosted: Disappearing Acts
