The 5 Books You Need to Read Right Now if You Have Mental Illness

       I love to read! I get up at 4:30 every morning just so I have time to read before work. As someone with depression I find reading stories about other depressives and those with mental illness to be helpful and inspiring. But it can be difficult to find good books discussing biographical details about a person’s mental illness. My purpose in this blog is to tell you about five books everyone with mental illness needs to read. These books are inspiring, comforting, helpful, and encouraging. So, without further ado, here are the five books you need to read right now if you have mental illness. 

1. A First Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness

Written by Nassir Ghaemi, this book looks at the lives of four leaders who suffered with mental illness: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, and William Tecumseh Sherman. Ghaemi discusses each of these famous leaders’ mental illness, how their illness presented, and most importantly how their mental illness helped them be incredible leaders during times of turmoil. Ghaemi’s theory is that it was their mental illness that helped them be successful leaders. 

2. An Unquiet Mind: a Memoir of Moods and Madness

Written by Kay Redfield Jamison, herself a psychiatrist, who had a severe battle with Bipolar Disorder. She details her history of mental illness, holding nothing back. She then discusses mental illness in general, and provides her story of success. It is one of those books that helps you get through the worst times by seeing someone who battled the worst of manic-depression and succeeded in life despite of it. 

3. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

Written by Oliver Sacks, a neurologist who encountered people that may not have had mental illness per se, but who presented with substantial neuroses. I put this book in here because it can be more of a lighter, humorous read than the other books on this list. It also provides some interesting detail on the complexities of the human mind. 

4. Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness

Written by Joshua Wolf Shenk, this book provides the most in-depth detail of Abraham Lincoln’s battle with depression. This is one of my all time favorite books because it shows in great detail how one of the greatest men in the history of the United States battled his depression as a young man, and how he harnessed his mental illness later in life to do great things. 

5. Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic

Written by Seneca, obviously, this book consists of letters written to a politician/student of his. Seneca does not expressly discuss depression or mental illness in general, but he offers many valuable life lessons that remain relevant today. Stoicism does not mean you feel no emotion, but provides some useful coping skills on how to approach the world, that has been helpful to me during difficult times. 

       There are more books I could name here, and maybe I will make a follow-up post to give some more titles. In the meantime, these are amazing reads that you should get in paperback, e-book, or audio form and read right away. If you have questions, leave a comment or email me. Thank you. 

-Brandon L. Parks