Books that you have found to help

[riot-grrrl]

i definately second jess's reccomendation of :
The trick is to keep breathing - janice galloway
the bell jar - sylvia plath
prozac nation - elizabeth qurtzel (though she can be a little annoying sometimes!!)

also really reccomend b**** rules by elizabeth wurtzel

[flame]

Just looked in my bookcase!

'Cutting' by Steven Levenkron; - this is my favourite
'Red Tears' by Joanna Kenrick;
'A note on Madness' by Tabitha suzuma; - novel about bipolar if I remember correctly but interesting read
'Sickened' by Julie Gregory;
'Don't ever Tell' by Kathy O'Beirne;
'Cut' by Patricia McCormick;
'Secret Scars' by V.J. Turner;
'In Search of Adam' by Caroline Smailes;
'Growing up a Drunk Girl' by Koren Zailckas; - very good book about a girl who is an alcoholic
'The Little Prisoner' by Jane Elliot;
'Skin Game' by Caroline Kettlewell

[riot-grrrl]

http://www.mhsanctuary.com/books/smbooks.htm

check out this huge list
xxx

[aurora]

Not necessarily from a sh point of view.
But Torey Hayden's books i've found to help. i don't really know why but they show stuff that goes on in our lives from a professional point of view and they also, to me, show that out there there are some professionals that do care. It's not just a job to her she really does love her kids etc.
It kinda makes me have a small amount of hope.

[Hayez]

have to agree with thsi one

'A Bright Red Scream' by Marilee Strong: A research piece which includes real life accounts/experiences of people who SH.

Louise L Hay helped me massively here "you can heal your life" was the best book for recover.

I read bright read scream recently as i began to understand more what i used to do and why

[riot-grrrl]

I personally didnt like bright red scream, but maybe thats just because my mum gave it to me to read, and i jus couldnt bare too..

I have just got a book out the library and so far its great.

"Sometimes i act crazy" Living with Borderline Personality Disorder
Jerold J. Kreisman and Hal Strous

[Louise]

One book my dad recommends is

"I hate you Don't Leave me" by Jerold J. Kreisman

It's essentially a guide for the loved ones of those who suffer from BPD. He bought it after a professional gave me that unofficial disgnosis many moons ago and I decided to read it myself recently. It's a good starting point for anyone who is pretty clueless about the illness and personally I thought it articulated very perceptively what goes on in the mind of someone with BPD - it's highly recommended by my dad anyway, he reckons it was really helpful without talking down to him at all.

Apparently the treatments etc it mentions are considered a bit dated now, but as I was lucky enough to escape official diagnosis I do not know how true this is. Anyway it's worth reading - just the title gives an insight as to how good it is in my opinon :;):

[riot-grrrl]

just a brief note,
the book Louise just mentioned, i hate you don't leave me, was the first book by Kreisman, 'sometimes i act crazy' is the follow up. I havnt read his first one, but apparently it can seem a little negative at times, not giving the borderline a great prognosis for the future, but in 'sometimes i act crazy' treatment options are considered carefully and it offers a much more optimistic outlook, which is nice!

[pohelia]

I haven't read the secone but have read the first (I hate you...) and would recommend it, it's given me a huge insight into BPD and made me fully understand what it is I may be branded with in the near future. I wouldn't say it's overly negative but I guess that depends upon the reader. I'm definitely going to check up the follow up now! Thanks RG

[Feebee]

Wonderful book I've just finished reading.  It's called Tuk Tuk to the Road by Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent and Jo Huxster  It's their story  -  2 girls, 3 wheels covering 12,500 miles.  The book tells their story of their travels in a tuk tuk from Bangkok to Brighton raising money for the chairty MIND. 

Jo has had serious mental health problems in the past and self-harmed really badly.  Ants her friend although having suffered from depression herself, never quite had the problems that Jo had and was also never admitted into hospital.  However their friendship and support of each other resulted in them doing the almost impossible task of travelling in once of the most uncomfortable vehicles known to man - a tuk, tuk for miles and miles to raise money and awareness of mental health issues.

It's a truly great book  -  very inspiring and I would recommend it to anyone wanting something a little different to read - combined with some good humour too.