NAMI Bookshelf: March 2011

Editors’ note: Click the book title to order the book from Amazon.com and NAMI NATIONAL  will receive a portion of the proceeds.

Thirty-five young people, recently diagnosed with schizophrenia, talk about their illness in this book, while two specialists address everything from medical science to medication side-effects. It is a very good resource for individuals and families seeking a roadmap to recovery.

The authentic voices of individuals who actually live with schizophrenia discuss being stigmatized, relapsing and how they cope, while the clinicians help provide structure and background about positive and negative symptoms and other key facts. Woven together, the result is not so much a book as a lively conversation that offers many insights and suggestions-including a “top 13 list” of tips for staying out of the hospital.

Chapters such as “Why Me?” “What Will People Think of Me Now?” and “Who Am I Now?” explore powerful feelings common to anyone who experiences the onset of serious mental illness. Some believe they have learned much about themselves through illness and have grown stronger. Others see recovery as “a never-ending process.” Overall, the book provides perspectives that can help a person find their own path through mental illness.