Suggested Reading

At the Connecticut Mental Health Center Foundation, we believe that sharing knowledge heals​. The following list of books have been selected to provide more detailed information on a range of topics pertaining to mental health and addiction recovery. Please note, we have not reviewed all material and cannot endorse the content. Topics include:
 
 

Addiction

Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction by David Sheff. Houghton Mifflin, 2008. (available on Amazon)

Recovery from Addiction: A Practical Guide to Treatment, Self-Help, and Quitting on Your Own by William Cloud and Robert Granfield. NYU Press, 2001. (available on Amazon)
 
Clean: Overcoming Addiction and Ending America’s Greatest Tragedy by David Sheff. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013. (available on Amazon and at NHFPL)
 
 

 Bipolar Disorder

An Unquiet Mind by K.R. Jamison. Vintage Books, 1996. (available on Amazon and at NHFPL)

Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament by K.R. Jamison. Free Press, 1993. (available on Amazon)
 
 

Borderline Personality Disorder

The Buddha and the Borderline: My Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder through Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Buddhism, and Online Dating by Kiera Van Gelder. New Harbinger Publications, 2010. (available on Amazon)
 
 

Depression

A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness by Nassir Ghaemi. Penguin Books, 2011. (available on Amazon and at NHFPL)
 
Willow Weep for Me: A Black Woman’s Journey Through Depression by Meri Nana-Ama Danquah. Ballantine, 1999. (available on Amazon and at NHFPL)
 
The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon. Scribner, 2000. (available on Amazon and at NHFPL)
 
Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness by William Styron. Random House, 1990. (available on Amazon and at NHFPL)
 
 

For Family and Friends

When Someone You Love Has a Mental Illness: A Handbook for Family, Friends, and Caregivers by R. Woolis. J.P. Tarcher Publications, 1992. (available on Amazon and at NHFPL)

Breaking the Silence: Mental Health Professionals Disclose Their Personal and Family Experiences of Mental Illness by Stephen P. Hinshaw. Oxford University Press, 2008. (available on Amazon)

Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity by Andrew Solomon. Scribner, 2012. (available on Amazon and at NHFPL)

Family WRAP: Wellness Recovery Action Plan by M.E. Copeland.  The Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery. Peach Press, 1997.

Helping Someone with Mental Illness: A Compassionate Guide for Family, Friends, and Caregivers by R. Carter and S. Golant. Times Books, 1999. (available on Amazon)

The Burden of Sympathy: How Families Cope With Mental Illness by D. A. Karp. Oxford University Press, 2002. (available on Amazon)

Coping With Schizophrenia: A Guide for Families by K. T. Mueser, and S. Gingerich. New Harbinger Publications, 1994. (available on Amazon)

Divided Minds: Twin Sisters and Their Journey Through Schizophrenia by P. Spiro-Wagner and C. Spiro. St. Martin’s Press, 2005. (available on Amazon and NHFPL)

Henry’s Demons: Living with Schizophrenia, A Father and Son’s Story by P. Cockburn and J. Cockburn. Scribner, 2011. (available on Amazon and NHFPL)

Imagining Robert: My Brother, Madness, and Survival, A Memoir by J.  Neugeboren. Rutgers University Press, 2003. (available on Amazon)

Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness by P. Earley. Penguin Books, 2006. (available on Amazon and at NHFPL)

The Years of Silence are Past: My Father’s Life with Bipolar Disorder by S.P. Hinshaw. Cambridge University Press, 2002. (available on Amazon)

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed and Other Things I’ve Learned by A. Alda. Random House, 2006. (available on Amazon and at NHFPL)

Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder by P. T. Mason and R. Kreger. New Harbinger Publications, Inc, 2010. (available on Amazon and at NHFPL)

Nothing to Hide: Mental Illness in the Family by J.J. Beard and P. Gillespie. New Press, 2002. (available on Amazon)

First Person Accounts

On the Edge of Darkness : Conversations About Conquering Depression by Kathy Cronkite. Doubleday, 1993. (Amazon and NHFPL)

First Person Accounts of Mental Illness and Recovery by C. LeCroy and J. Holschuh. Wiley, 2012. (available on Amazon)

General 

I Am Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help! How to Help Someone with Mental Illness Accept Treatment by Xavier Amador. Vida Press, 2011. (available on Amazon)

Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David Burns. Harper, 2008. (available on Amazon and at NHFPL)

 

Schizophrenia

The Center Cannot Hold by Elyn Saks. Hyperion, 2007. (available on Amazon and at NHFPL)
 
Is There No Place on Earth for Me? by Susan Sheehan. Houghton Mifflin, 1982. (available on Amazon and at NHFPL)
 
 

Workbooks

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook by M. McKay, J.C. Wood, and J. Brantley. New Harbinger Publications, 2007. (available on Amazon)

A Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Workbook by B. Stahl, E. Goldstein, S. Santorelli, and J. Kabat-Zinn. New Harbinger Publications, 2010. (available on Amazon)

Contact Us

CMHC Foundation
34 Park Street, Suite 144
New Haven, CT 06519
203-974-7089 (Office)
203-974-7719 (Fax)

Kyle Pedersen, MAR
Kyle.Pedersen@yale.edu

Norma Gibson, MBA, MEd
Norma.Gibson@yale.edu

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