May is Mental Health Awareness Month, which makes it a great time to check out these memoirs written about the authors' experiences with mental illnesses. Millions of Americans live with mental illnesses. Learning more and speaking up about them can help break the stigma surrounding mental illness. These books are available as ebooks from either Overdrive (Libby) or Hoopla. (If you need help getting started with ebooks, check out the tutorials available on this page or contact us with questions!)
|
|
The Man Who Couldn't Stop : OCD and the True Story of a Life Lost in Thought (Available on Overdrive)
by David Adam Drawing on the latest research on the brain as well as historical accounts of patients and their treatments, an accomplished science writer shares his 20-year battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder and his unflinchingly honest attempt to understand the condition and his experiences. Includes notes and references. |
|
|
The valedictorian of being dead : the true story of dying ten times to live (Available on Overdrive)
by Heather B Armstrong Describes the author's struggle with depression and her decision to participate in an experimental clinical trial that chemically induced comas approximating brain death multiple times |
|
|
Shockaholic (Available on Overdrive)
by Carrie Fisher Presents a memoir about the actress' relationship with her father, singer Eddie Fisher, her electroconvulsive therapy, and her past encounters with such recently-deceased celebrities as Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor, and Senator Edward Kennedy. |
|
|
Hunger : a memoir of (my) body (Available on Hoopla)
by Roxane Gay The author of Bad Feminist reflects on her emotional and psychological struggles to explore women's anxieties over consumption, appearance and health. |
|
|
Reasons to stay alive (Available on Overdrive)
by Matt Haig In a moving and entirely relatable account, an internationally best-selling author shares his struggle with depression and, helping those who are confused or daunted by the illness, reveals how he was able to triumph over the disease on order to live again. |
|
|
I'm telling the truth, but I'm lying : essays (Available on Hoopla)
by Bassey Ikpi A deeply personal collection of essays by the Nigerian-American writer and creator of #NoShameDay explores how her childhood move from Nigeria to Oklahoma was complicated by Bipolar II and anxiety disorders. |
|
|
(Don't) call me crazy : 33 voices start the conversation about mental health (Available on Hoopla)
by Kelly Jensen An anthology of essays and illustrations that illuminate mental health topics in a straightforward way. |
|
|
Girl, Interrupted (Available on Overdrive)
by Susanna Kaysen The author of Asa, as I Knew Him offers a compelling and poignant memoir of her two years as a teenager in a psychiatric hospital, sharing vivid portraits of her fellow patients, their keepers, and her experiences during treatment. |
|
|
Heavy : an American memoir (Available on Overdrive)
by Kiese Laymon An essayist and novelist explores what the weight of a lifetime of secrets, lies, and deception does to a black body, a black family, and a nation teetering on the brink of moral collapse. |
|
|
Heart berries : a memoir (Available on Hoopla)
by Terese Marie Mailhot The author recounts her coming of age on the Seabird Island Indian Reservation in the Pacific Northwest where she survived a dysfunctional childhood and found herself hospitalized with a dual diagnosis of PTSD and bipolar II disorder. |
|
|
The hilarious world of depression (Available on Overdrive)
by John Moe The host of the podcast The Hilarious World of Depression offers a moving portrait of what it means to be depressed. |
|
|
Shadows in the sun : healing from depression and finding the light within (Available on Overdrive)
by Gayathri Ramprasad The author discusses the mental illness she suffered from a young age and the treatment she received only after she left India and became a mother for the first time in the United States, describing her emotional recovery and spiritual awakening and her role as an advocate for the mentally ill. |
|
|
The body papers : a memoir (Available on Hoopla)
by Grace Talusan Winner of The Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing, Grace Talusan’s memoir The Body Papers bravely explores her experiences with sexual abuse, depression, cancer, and life as a Filipino immigrant, supplemented with government documents, medical records, and family photos. |
|
|
The Buddha & the borderline : my recovery from borderline personality disorder through dialectical behavior therapy, Buddhism, & online dating (Available on Hoopla)
by Kiera Van Gelder A woman with borderline personality disorder, who tried to kill herself as early as age 12, relates her quest to turn her suffering into compassion by going to therapy, embracing Buddhist spirituality and forcing herself to get back out into the social world. |
|
|
The collected schizophrenias : essays (Available on Overdrive)
by Esmé Weijun Wang The award-wining author of The Border of Paradise presents a collection of evocative essays on mental illness that build on her own experiences with schizoaffective disorder while examining the vulnerabilities of institutionalization, PTSD and Lyme disease. |