A bonus second book review for today! Behold Her Majestic Fog is written by my dear blogging friend Meg Kimball. I knew going in that this was a young adult novel in the "campy horror" genre, but I wasn't sure what that actually meant. Well, now I know. The novel takes place during a church lock-in, … Continue reading Book review: Behold Her Majestic Fog
Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me: Depression in the First Person is written by journalist Anna Mehler Paperny, and is both a story of her own personal experiences of suicidality and an in-depth journalistic exploration of depression and suicide. The author has done her research well. The book contains information gleaned from interviews with … Continue reading Book Review: Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me
Writing to Heal the Pain: Stories & Poems by Mateja Klaric is a collection of mostly essays and some poems. It takes the reader along on the author's attempts to find healing after having her career stolen away from her in a way that left her with anxiety and PTSD. The author explains that writing … Continue reading Book Review: Writing to Heal the Pain
My Life in Lists by Nicole Barlettano is an illustrated journal full of list prompts. The book is sectioned into past, present, and future-oriented lists. There is a page for each prompt and accompanying lists, and there are 100 lists in the book. There are also some blank illustrated pages at the back of the book … Continue reading Book Review: My Life in Lists
A Guided Mental Illness Journal & Workbook: Build Confidence and Coping Skills by Rebecca Chamaa is aimed at helping people with mental illness to feel better about themselves and the world they interact with. The journal is set up to do a task a day for 60 days, so that you have a steady 2 … Continue reading Book Review: A Guided Mental Illness Journal & Workbook
Mindfulness for Insomnia: A Four-Week Guided Program to Relax Your Body, Calm Your Mind, and Get the Sleep You Need by Catherine Polan Orzech and William H. Moorcroft lays out a day-by-day meditation program to facilitate sleep. I'll start off by saying that I read the book because I was curious about the method, but … Continue reading Book Review: Mindfulness for Insomnia
Stand Tall Little Girl is a memoir by Hope Virgo that focuses on her experience with anorexia nervosa. If you are active on social media, you may recognize Hope from her Dump the Scales campaign to stop weight being used as a barrier to mental health services for people experiencing eating disorders. The book is published … Continue reading Book Review: Stand Tall Little Girl
The Bipolar Addict: Drinks, Drugs, Delirium, & Why Sober Is the New Cool by Conor Bezane shares the author's experiences, as well as the experiences of others, living with bipolar disorder and co-occurring addictions. I went into his book with high expectations, because concurrent disorders need to be included more often into the conversation about … Continue reading Book review: The Bipolar Addict
The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future is written by Ryder Carroll, who is the founder of the Bullet Journal® (yes, it's trademarked) and the website bulletjournal.com. Before reading this book, I was vaguely aware that there was an official bullet journal website, but what I learned about bullet journalling came … Continue reading Book Review: The Bullet Journal Method
Eat the Damn Muffin: Confidence for Every Body by Jenni Dunlap is all about loving yourself and your body. She writes: "All bodies are good, and all bodies are beautiful. This is a fuck those beauty standards type of book, because beauty is a state of mind not state of body." Okay, I'm definitely in! … Continue reading Book Review: Eat the Damn Muffin
Shattered by the Darkness: Putting the Pieces Back Together After Child Abuse by Gregory Williams is a heart-wrenching account of childhood sexual abuse perpetrated by the author's father over many years. The book contains detailed descriptions of sexual abuse, sometimes with multiple abusers. There is nothing gratuitously graphic in the descriptions, but readers who have … Continue reading Book Review: Shattered by the Darkness
Getting By: Understanding Lifelong Depression is a memoir by Jack Trelance. The author has lived with depression since his teens, and admits to planning his first suicide attempt at age 14. He describes his first suicide attempt at age 25, and afterwards he didn't feel sadness but rather "a slow-burning anger and frustration, coupled with resigned, … Continue reading Book Review: Getting By
Dealing with Depression: Simple Ways to Get Your Life Back is written by clinical psychologist Jan Marsh. It offers strategies to be used either alone in milder forms of depression or in conjunction with medication or psychotherapy. Ideas from several therapeutic approaches are incorporated, including cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and compassion focused therapy. … Continue reading Book Review: Dealing with Depression
Your Mental Health and You is written by Sandy Pace, whose blog I've followed for some time. He has a degree in psychology, lives with ADHD, and has experienced addiction. The book covers various areas of your life and your thinking where you could make changes to promote better mental health. It's immediately clear how passionate … Continue reading Book Review: Your Mental Health and You
