Suggested Reading List

Depression and Other Brain Illnesses

Adults

  • A Brilliant Madness by Patty Duke
  • An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison
  • Change Your Brain, Change Your Life by Daniel G. Amen, M.D
  • Choosing To Live – How to Defeat Suicide Through Cognitive Therapy by Thomas E. Ellis, Psy.D. & Cory F. Newman, Ph.D.
  • Darkness Visible- A Memoir of Madness by William Styron
  • Depression Fallout by Anne Sheffield
  • Essential Guide to Psychiatric Drugs by Jack M. Gorman, M.D.
  • How You Can Survive When They’re Depressed by Anne Sheffield
  • I Don’t Want to Talk About It by Terrence Real (Great Resource for Men)
  • Illuminations, Shedding the Light on Depression by Jack Stoltzfus, Ph.D.
  • On the Edge of Darkness by Kathy Cronkite
  • Overcoming Depression by Demitri Papolos, M.D. & Janice Papolos
  • Questions & Answers about Depression and Its Treatment by Ivan K. Goldberg, M.D.
  • Regular & Decaf: One Friend with Schizophrenia, One Friend with Bipolar, One Cup at a Time by Andrew D. Gadtke
  • Surviving Schizophrenia, 6th Edition: A Family Manual by E. Fuller Torrey, M.D.
  • The Beast: A Reckoning with Depression by Tracy Thompson
  • The Broken Brain by Nancy Andreasen, M.D.
  • The Noonday Demon by Andrew Solomon
  • Triumph Over Fear by Jerilynn Ross
  • Understanding Depression – A Complete Guide to Its Diagnosis & Treatment by Donald F. Klein, M.D. & Paul H. Wender, M.D.
  • Undoing Depression – What Therapy Doesn’t Teach You and Medication Can’t Give You by Richard O’Connor, Ph.D.
  • When Going Through Hell….Don’t Stop! by Douglas Bloch
  • You Mean I Don’t Have to Feel This Way by Collette Dowling
  • Waking up: Deciding to Die, Choosing to Live by Terry L. Wise

Children & Adolescents:

  • Conquering the Beast Within: How I Fought Depression and Won..and How You Can, Too  by Cait Irwin (Youth and Adults)
  • Depression in the Young – What We Can Do to Help Them by Trudy Carlson
  • Helping Your Depressed Child – A Reassuring Guide to the Causes & Treatments of Childhood & Adolescent Depression by Lawrence L. Kearns, M.D.
  • Helping Your Depressed Teenager – A Guide for Parents & Caregivers by Gerald D. Oster, Ph.D. & Sarah S. Montgomery, MSW
  • Hiding – by Henry Turner
  • It’s Nobody’s Fault – New Hope and Help for Difficult Children and Their Parents by Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D.
  • No One Saw My Pain – Why Teens Kill Themselves by Andrew Slaby, M.D. & Lili Frank Garfinkel
  • Sad Days, Glad Days: A Story about Depression by DeWitt Hamilton (a story book for children about adult depression)
  • The Power of PATH by Tasha Schuh (Building Resilience for Mental Health & Emotional Health)
  • When Nothing Matters Anymore: A Survival Guide for Depressed Teens by Bev Cobain

Suicide

  • After Suicide by John Hewitt
  • Bart Speaks Out: Breaking the Silence on Suicide; an interactive storybook/workbook for children
  • by Linda Goldman, M.S.
  • Choosing To Live – How to Defeat Suicide Through Cognitive Therapy by Thomas E. Ellis, Psy.D. & Cory F. Newman, Ph.D.
  • Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide by Kay Redfield Jamison
  • Preventing Youth Suicide – A Handbook for Educators & Human Service Professionals by Marcia L. McEvoy & Alan W. McEvoy
  • Suicide Survivors’ Handbook by Trudy Carlson
  • Suicide:  Intervention & Therapy – Undoing the Forever Decision by Paul G. Quinnett
  • Suicide:  The Forever Decision – For Those Thinking About Suicide, and For Those Who Know, Love, or Counsel Them by Paul G. Quinnett
  • Survivors of Suicide by Rita Robinson
  • Why Suicide? by Eric Marcus
  • The Power to Prevent Suicide: a guide for Teens Helping Teens by Richard E. Nelson, PhD and Judith C. Galas
  • Suicide, Why? By Adina Wrobleski
  • When Nothing Matters Anymore by Bev Cobain R.N., C.
  • How I Stayed Alive When My Brain was Trying to Kill Me: Person’s Guide to Suicide Prevention by Susan Rose Blauner

Grief After Suicide (some not specific to suicide)

  • A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
  • After Suicide by John Hewitt
  • Do They Have Bad Days in Heaven?  by Michelle Linn-Gust (Surviving a Suicide Loss of a Sibling)
  • Eric’s Story- Surviving a Son’s Suicide by Sandra Underwood
  • Healing After the Suicide of a Loved One by Ann Smolin, C.S.W. and John Guinan, Ph.D.
  • Healing the Hurt Spirit by Catherine Greenleaf
  • Helping Children Grieve: When Someone They Love Dies by Theresa Huntley
  • Life is Goodbye, Life is Hello : Grieving Well Through All Kinds Of Loss by Alla Bozarth Campbell
  • Love Never Dies by Sandy Goodman (A Mother’s Journey from Loss to Love)
  • My Son, My Son: A Guide to Healing After Death, Loss, or Suicide by Iris Bolton
  • Silent Grief: Living in the Wake of Suicide by Christopher Lukas
  • Suicide of a Child by Adina Wrobleski
  • Suicide:  Survivors – A Guide for Those Left Behind by Adina Wrobleski
  • Talking about Death: A Dialogue between Parent and Child by Earl A. Grollman
  • The Grieving Child: A Parent’s Guide by Helen Fitzgerald
  • The Suicide of My Son – A Story of Childhood Depression by Trudy Carlson
  • The Tender Land: A Family Love Story by Kathleen Finneran
  • Tragedy to Triumph by Reuel Nygaard
  • When Dinosaurs Die – A Guide to Understanding Death (a storybook for children) by Laurie Krasny Brown & Marc Brown
  • Dying to be Free by Bev Cobain
  • But I Didn’t Say Goodbye by Barbara Rubel
  • No Time to Say Goodbye: Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One by Carla Fine
  • Touched by Suicide: Hope and Healing After Loss by Dr. Michael Myers and Carla Fine
  • Suicide Survivors’ Club by Rebecca Anderson, Art by Laurie Phillips