Building mental wellness on a foundation of strength
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
In February, 2020, I published my third book, Managing the Depression Puzzle. It followed pretty rapid fire after Psych Meds Made Simple in Feb/19 and then Making Sense of Psychiatric Diagnosis in Sept/19. The timing wasn't great for my latest book, coming out shortly before the COVID train plowed over everything. It didn't manage to… Continue reading 2020 Year in Review: Books
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
On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder provides twenty lessons that society can learn from the tyrants of the 20th century. The book was recommended to me by rts of Facing the Challenges of Mental Health. This post is less a book review and more a follow-up to a what is... post I did recently on the… Continue reading Book Review/Reflections: On Tyranny
Heads Up: Changing Minds on Mental Health by Melanie Siebert is an illustrated book about mental that's aimed at a teen audience. The author is a youth and family counsellor from my corner of Canada. The book considers different ways of looking at what mental illness is and how it happens, including biological factors, trauma,… Continue reading Book Review: Heads Up
The Mindfulness Workbook for OCD by Jon Hershfield and Tom Corboy has just been released in its second edition. I was curious what a mindful approach to OCD would look like, but, as the subtitle says, this is a mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in combination book; it's not a pull up a cushion… Continue reading Book Review: The Mindfulness Workbook for OCD
Pocket Therapy for Emotional Balance by Matthew McKay, Jeffrey C. Wood, and Jeffrey Brantley is part of a series of pocket therapy books from New Harbinger Publishers. The book is short, the chapters are bite-sized, and it's very easy to read. The book is based on dialectical behaviour therapy, with a focus on emotional regulation.… Continue reading Book Review: Pocket Therapy for Emotional Balance
In Safe: A Memoir, Elspeth Roake shares her journey with depression and trauma-related disordered attachment, from the lowest lows to finally finding healing. Elspeth competed in horse shows, and the book begins in Florida for the winter show season, with her going into the hospital for suicidal ideation. She ended up being Baker Acted (committed… Continue reading Book Review: Safe: A Memoir
