Fourteen More Insightful Memoirs/Non-Fiction Books about Mental Illness and Addiction

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month-

I first shared Fourteen Incredible Memoirs about Mental Illness and Addiction more than a year ago. The collection of true stories had been so helpful as I set out to research and begin to write a family memoir about inherited generational trauma. The books helped me better understand my own family’s history of mental illness, namely four suicides, bipolar, depression, anxiety, ADHD, and subsequent substance abuse and marital affairs. I came to understand, besides how difficult it is to write a book, mental illness affects the entire family and is often shrouded in secrecy because of shame. I also came to understand substance abuse is closely tied to mental health conditions.

After publishing my first list, nine months later, I published another list- Fourteen MORE Incredible Memoirs about Mental Illness and Addiction because there were more eye-opening and moving books I wanted to share. I’d just launched a podcast called Dear Family, to share inspirational people’s personal stories about overcoming obstacles and achieving mental wellness. Just like all the eye-opening works of non-fiction had done for me, I wanted to remind my listeners to never write themselves or their complicated families off, and instead replace the shame and…