Books I Recommend Related to Mental Illness
Hello friend! Happy New Year! Since the year is just beginning, I want to share books I’ve read on aspects of mental health and mental illness that you might enjoy, be challenged by, and learn from. I hope you pick at least one of them to read.
FICTION
Shades of Light by Sharon Garlough Brown
I enjoyed this story of the main character who is in her twenties, who paints and likes Van Gogh. She suffers from depression, loss, and grief. If you don’t understand depression well, it will give you insight into how dark the world can be. Brown develops her characters so well that they seem real to life. Some of the other key characters most of whom are Christians, lovingly mentor and support her through her journey of growth. Sharon Garlough Brown is a highly successful Christian author, so it’s a great read.
Loving Naomi by Meghan Newkirk
Loving Naomi was a great read for me, too. Naomi is a college student with anxiety who doesn’t know she suffers from OCD. Her journey of faith and growth are depicted within the context of a Christian world view. Though the author isn’t an award-winning writer, I still loved the development of her characters and her vivid descriptions. It’s a good book for anyone, especially someone who suffers from this illness, but also for friends or family members who interact or raise someone with Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder.
NONFICTION
Secret Warrior On and Off the Court by Joanne P. McCallie
This incredible coach of collegiate women’s basketball writes her fascinating story of her onset of bipolar disorder and how she handled life as a coach and wife and mom. She traces her journey to live with this mood disorder and at the same time have a successful career from age thirty into her fifties. You will be intrigued by the unfolding of the details of her difficult journey. At the same time, you will be inspired by her positive statements about those with mood disorders. She’s the real deal—truthful, intellectual, disciplined, and spiritual.
Different by Nathan Clarkson and Sally Clarkson
Nathan tells his story about his journey from childhood to adulthood with OCD and a complicated defiant disorder that he didn’t understand until he was in his teens. He writes one chapter and Sally Clarkson, his mother, alternates chapters with her viewpoint and her often agonizing struggle to understand and teach Nathan, who she homeschools along with her other three children. You can find Sally at Sallyclarkson.com. She has an outstanding longtime ministry of mentoring women in Christian growth and motherhood. I think she is a great role model for mothers who raise children with a mental illness.
Blessed Union: Breaking the Silence about Mental Illness and Marriage by Sarah Griffith Lund
Reverend Dr. Griffith Lund approaches mental illness and marriage with helpful definitions of mental illness and ways to find resources. She includes true stories of spouses and how they lived their lives together, usually a husband and wife who both have a mental illness. Though I don’t completely agree with her on every theological point, she has the heart of a pastor and an experienced mentor who speaks with authority on mental illness. I was very blessed by her own story and the stories of others in this book that offer hope.
This book fascinated me as well as disturbed me because of Carole’s husband’s difficult and repeated antagonistic and suicidal behavior. Nevertheless, I highly recommend it to someone who’s caring for a spouse with a mental illness. Carole’s honesty amazed me as she describes her feelings, reactions, and personal faith in Christ as she faces a difficult life in which it seems her husband’s problems have no answers. At the end of the book, she includes a list of songs and artists she listens to when she’s anxious or afraid.
I highly recommend this book to anyone, and I read it twice so I could digest everything she writes. Aundi Kolber is a licensed professional counselor. The book isn’t necessarily about mental illness, but it certainly helps someone with anxiety or who has suffered trauma. I think everyone would benefit from reading it. She offers a gentle approach, and she explains mindfulness and paying attention to our body and what it is telling us. She integrates faith and psychology well. It I applied some of her practical exercises to my life, and I grew in my ability to handle my emotions.
- Marilyn