Children's Books

The Face at the Window, by Regina Hanson. Clarion Books, ©1997.

Exceptional children's picture book that illustrates empathy for the mentally ill.

Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry, by Bebe Moore Campbell. Putnam, ©2003

Nicely illustrated children's picture book that explains mental illness to the very young.

Novels

Halfway House, by Katharine Noel. Atlantic Monthly, ©2006

Set in a small town in New Hampshire, this is the story of a young woman's psychotic breakdown—and her family's subsequent turmoil.

72 hour hold, by Bebe Moore Campbell. Knopf, ©2005

An African-American mother struggles to save her 18-year old daughter from the devastating consequences of bipolar disorder.

Memoirs

The Day The Voices Stopped. By Ken Steele. Basic Books, ©2001

The late Ken Steele wrote a painfully honest memoir about his life spent on the streets--and in and out of psychiatric hospitals--until a new medication gave him a new lease on life.

Madness: A Bipolar Life, by Marya Hornbacher. Houghton-Mifflin, ©2008.

The author of "Wasted" takes us inside her own desperate attempts to control violently careening mood swings by self-starvation, substance abuse, numbing sex, and self-mutilation before she learned how to manage her symptoms.

The Center Cannot Hold, by Elyn R. Saks. Hyperion, ©2007

A memoir of paranoid schizophrenia by an accomplished professor recounts her first symptoms at the age of eight, her efforts to hide the severity of her condition, and the obstacles she has overcome in the course of her treatment and marriage.

Non Fiction

An Unquiet Mind. By Kay Redfield Jamison. Vintage, ©1996

Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Kay Jamison speaks about bipolar disorder drawing from her personal experiences.

Surviving Schizophrenia (HarperCollins ©2001) and Surviving Manic Depression (Basic Books ©2002) , by E. Fuller Torrey.

These guides for patients, families and the general public are considered classics on the topic of treatment and advocacy.

Crazy: a father's search through America's mental health madness. By Pete Early. Putnam, ©2006.

Pete Early used his journalistic skills to chronicle his—and others-- harrowing odyssey to find help for their mentally ill loved ones.

Connections: a self-help and resource guide. NAMI Greater Seattle, ©2006

An essential guide for every library collection for individuals with mental illness, their families, and social service professionals.

Feature Films

Shine. New Line Video, ©1997

Australian pianist David Helfgott suffered a nervous breakdown at the zenith of his career. With the support of friends, he returned to the concert hall.

A Beautiful Mind. Universal Studios, ©2002

Nobel Prize winner John Nash was a brilliant mathematician who spent years overwhelmed by his schizophrenic delusions

Canvas. Universal, ©2008

Outstanding portrayal of the challenges faced by a man and his son when their wife/mother is hospitalized.

Documentary

Back From Madness: The Struggle For Sanity. HBO Productions, ©2003

Follows four psychiatric patients for one to two years. The program is about the patients themselves, and the inner strength that is required of them as they search for some relief from the severe mental illnesses they are coping with--schizophrenia, manic-depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and suicidal depression

Websites

Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Admin (SAMHSA)

National Institute of Mental Health

Mental Health America

National Alliance on Mental Illness