I first heard of the book Written Off: Mental Health Stigma and the Loss of Human Potential by Philip T. Yanos on a blog post by Don't Stigmatize Me. It immediately went on my list of books to read, but it's taken a while to get around to it, and I ended up getting a … Continue reading Book review: Written Off
The Happiness Diary: Practice Living Joyfully by Barbara A. Kipfer guides you through various self-reflection exercises and prompts to connect with the potential for happiness that already exists in your life. It's designed to be used as a notebook and written in, and each page is beautifully illustrated. I'm always a tad wary of happiness-promoting books/articles, … Continue reading Book review: The Happiness Diary
In Own It: Make Your Anxiety Work For You, Caroline Foran aims to help you change your relationship with anxiety so that rather than trying to avoid it you can own it. The book isn't preachy at all, and feels like a chat with a good friend. The author takes a no-bullshit tone, and assures … Continue reading Book review: Own It
Escaping the Emotional Roller Coaster: ACT for the Emotionally Sensitive by Dr. Patricia Zurita Ona draws upon acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) techniques to help "super-feelers" work with their emotions more effectively. What is a super-feeler? It's a term the author uses to describe people who struggle with emotional regulation, meaning they experience intense emotions … Continue reading Book review: Escaping the Emotional Roller Coaster
Battered, Tattered, But Not Shattered: Finding The Strength In What Remains is a memoir by Marie Abanga. This is part of a series of memoir accounts, and focuses on her abusive marriage and how she rebuilt her life afterwards. I always enjoy Marie's unique way with words, like this gem: "I know I have the guts … Continue reading Book review: Battered, Tattered, But Not Shattered
Swinging Sanity is the first book of poetry by N.F. Mirza. The book is organized according to five themes, beginning with screaming numbness and ending with random reflections. Each section begins with an illustration depicting different facets of the author along with a relevant quote. The poems vary in length, ranging from a few lines … Continue reading Book review: Swinging Sanity
How To Be Miserable: 40 Strategies You Already Use by psychologist Randy J. Paterson challenges us to make our lives more miserable than the already are. The sneaky bit? He'll make us realize that we're already doing a lot of those things inadvertently. The book is broken down into 40 lessons, which are divided into … Continue reading Book review: How To Be Miserable
Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness is written by psychologist Rick Hanson along with his son Forrest. It looks at how to build resilience given what we know about the neuroscience of learning. Despite being grounded in science, it's refreshingly practical and simple. The book begins by identifying three … Continue reading Book review: Resilient
Bipolar Me by Janet Coburn explores her journey with bipolar II disorder. The book is made up of blog posts, which are divided into chapters based on theme. The chapters cover topics like the symptoms of bipolar disorder, the "med-go-round", times of struggling, dealing with social situations, and broader societal issues. Each post is pretty … Continue reading Book review: Bipolar Me
Here's a quickie second book review for today, No More Grumpies by fellow blogger Maranda Russell. This lovely children's book will likely remind any adult of their own grumpy moments from their childhood. The little boy's complaint "This bacon isn't crispy enough" was music to my ears. As the book follows little Michael through a … Continue reading Book review: No More Grumpies
What Is the Worst Case Scenario? by Marie Abanga includes a foreword by mental health advocate and Olympian Amy Gamble. For anyone familiar with Marie's blog, you will very much recognize her distinctive voice in this book. Marie explains that writing this book was "my journey to a new me, a me who wants to keep facing … Continue reading Book review: What Is The Worst Case Scenario?
Searching For The Truth: Poems & Prose Inspired by our Inner Worlds by Maranda Russell begins with the dedication: "For everyone who isn't afraid to search for the truth, even if it means looking outside your comfort zone." The book takes a very personal look at difficult topics like death, uncertainty, pain, and fear. In … Continue reading Book review: Searching For The Truth
Canadian comedian Jessica Holmes shares her experiences with depression in Depression the Comedy: A Tale of Perseverance. I think Holmes is an excellent comedian, and I love the idea of bringing a comedic approach to a book about depression, but some of the comedy aspect was a bit lost on me. However, I don't know … Continue reading Book review: Depression the Comedy
The Handbook for Highly Sensitive People: How to Transform Feeling Overwhelmed and Frazzled to Empowered and Fulfilled is written by Mel Collins, who describes herself as a counsellor, spiritual healer, and reiki master, as well as a highly sensitive person (HSP). The book begins with a description of the characteristics of HSPs. The author explains that … Continue reading Book review: The Handbook for Highly Sensitive People
My Bipolar Mind by Samantha Steiner is written as a series of blog posts that capture her recovery from addiction while living with the effects of bipolar disorder. The story begins in April 2017 she hit her personal rock bottom, and from there began her slow journey towards recovery. Of course, the full story began … Continue reading Book review: My Bipolar Mind
