Mental illness, above all, should not be considered a taboo. One must talk about it and accept it in others. Here are some books that talk of Mental illnesses and how to cope with them.

When the Bough Breaks: A Memoir about One Family’s Struggle with Mental Illness by Denise Brauer and Michelle Brauer

Written from the perspective of the Brauer sisters, this book tells the story of the family’s struggle against mental illness. When the girls are in their teens the mother suddenly develops Bipolar disorder and becomes suicidal. The book talks about how the Brauer family copes with and overcomes this situation.

An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness by Kay Redfield Jamison

A radical approach on moods and madness, this book adopts the perspective of the healer and the healed. It is a powerful narrative of the author’s firsthand experience with Bipolar disorder and suicidal tendencies.

Blessed Are the Crazy by Sarah Griffith Lund

This is a story of how churches and other faith based groups have the potential to heal and comfort those who are directly or indirectly affected by mental illnesses. The author tells the story of her father whom she witnessed struggling with and against his illness. The one place where she finds solace is her church where she forms a Mental Health Ministry.

Troubled Minds by Amy Simpson

Mental illness is considered a taboo in the society and seldom has a complete cure and happy ending. The author of this book tries to urge her readers to accept the unfortunate people who suffer from this illness. We need to be sympathetic towards their state, accept them as they are and not just ignore them. We also need to extend support to their friends and family as these people exist around us and among us.

Psychiatric Tales by Darryl Cunningham

In this book the author talks about different mental illnesses and how to cope with them. He has tales to tell from the psychiatrist ward he works in and his own life. He also attacks the stereotypes and baseless prejudices against Mental Health patients, with the help of solid scientific argument.

Personality Disorders and Mental Illnesses by Clarence T. Rivers

The book is a keen account of how the mind works and the diverse personality disorders and mental illnesses. She elaborates the causes of criminal inclination in psychopaths and talks of Psychopaths vs. Sociopaths and How to Deal with a Narcissist.

The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout

In this fundamental study the author claims that sociopaths exist all around you and they affect your life all the time. They are not just violent criminals and lawbreakers. Actually they are more charismatic than normal people. They are dominating and it’s thrilling for them to do literally anything at all and feel absolutely no guilt. This book teaches us how to identify them and deal with them. The turning point of the book is when you suddenly realize that somebody you know closely fits the bill.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Melinda is an outcast at Merry weather High. She ruined someone’s end-of-summer party by calling the cops. The reason being one of the people attending the party has sexually molested her. She is isolated, no one talks to her and as a result she stops talking altogether. Nothing comes out of the police complaint and the person keeps attending Merryweather. A few years later she has another encounter with this man. But this time she fights back. The book tries to establish the importance of talking for yourself.