Novels about mental health issues?

[Carla]

"I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" (1964) is a semi-autobiographical account/novel of a teenage girl's three-year battle with schizophrenia by Joanne Greenberg, written under the pen name of Hannah Green. It was made into a film in 1977 and a play in 2004.

(Thanks Wikipedia!)

[ALynnPowers]

Wow... a lot more than I expected to find out about... I'd be interested in fiction more than non-fiction.

[TammyO]

A Beautiful Mind: The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate John Nash by Sylvia Nash is an awesome story. You should really read this when you have an opportunity to do so.

[LivreAmour217]

The Quiet Room by Lori Schiller. It's an autobiography of a woman with schizophrenia (I cannot believe that I didn't think of this one sooner!)

I do have one question: What sort of mental illness are you interested in learning more about? Depression? Bipolar Disorder? Autism? Or are you just doing some general research?

[Lilapo9]

Dibs, in Search of Self by Virginia Axline. The Stranger in the Mirror by Marlene Steinberg. Darkness is my Only Companion by Kathryn Greene-McCreight. The Darkest Days of My Life: Stories of Postpartum Depression by Natasha Mauthner.

[debbiebee]

I recently read 'The Lies we Told' by Diane Chamberlain, who actually is a trained psychotherapist, and found it very insightful on the way a childhood trauma affected the lives of the two protagonists.

[L Brox]

This has really sparked my interest - I work in Mental Health & find it absolutely amazing the things that the human brain is capable of conjuring up.

I will defintely be having a look at some of the books suggested.

[ellemichele]

I took an abnormal psychology class in college. One of our requirements was to choose a mental illness and read a book on it. I actually fell in love with the author, and she has some really great ones. Marya Hornbacher is the author's name.

Wasted - anorexia/bulimia - This is the one I read.
Madness - bipolar disorder

She has a couple more, but I think these might be what you're interested in. They're not quite fiction, but it's a flawless story. She's extremely honest and raw about what happened to her.

[ALynnPowers]

I keep forgetting about this thread, but I know I would probably love all of these books!

[thebookworm07]

It's not mainly about mental health, but offers a good insight into the thoughts an anorexic person may experience. It's called "Jersey Tomatoes are the Best" by Maria Padian.

[BookWorm82]

6 months later is a great book.

[trabernathy29]

I read a book not to long ago (fiction) about a lady with a mental health issue. It's called The Secret She Kept by Reshonda Tate Billingsley. It was a pretty good read...takes you through the ups and downs involved with mental health and what happens if it goes untreated.

[ALynnPowers]

I just reviewed a book for this site called "Harper Lee and Peppermint Candy" by Paula Hennessy that is about a teenager with borderline personality disorder admitted into a psychiatric facility (shameless promotion: check out my review!). It was so good! The author used to work in a children's psych unit, and it was so awesome to see a story told by someone with that kind of background. Definitely recommended!

[jessica_anne]

I've read many of these suggestions, and they are all great! They teach you so much about the mind and how complex it really is. As someone who has a family member living with serious mental illness, these books really helped me understand what she is going through! I will also be taking some suggestions from this page

[zeldas_lullaby]

6 months later is a great book.

By Natalie D Richards? I loved that book!!