nadia’s picks

Buckeye

by Patrick Ryan

A beautifully written depiction of life in a small Ohio town; this book has many twists and turns. While reading, I kept returning to a central theme of attachment and generational trauma while considering the core relationships in the book. The depiction of a young woman who was not able to develop a healthy attachment with her own mother and then struggled to leave those wounds behind when she began raising her own child is a tale as old as time. While Patrick Ryan examined so many difficult themes with a head first approach, there are glimpses of hope and redemption as the story comes to a close, nudging the reader to consider forgiveness, healing, and maturity as children grow into adults and grapple with their own life stories.

The Center Cannot Hold

by Elyn R. Saks

This is one of the most compelling firsthand accounts of living with mental illness that I have had the privilege of reading. Elyn Saks, who shares her story of living with schizoaffective disorder, provides a poignant description of her health slipping away, often during times of transition in her life and despite her best efforts to hold on. In addition to describing her experience of being sick, she shares the importance and stabilizing effect of long term psychotherapy. Her eloquence and ability to share the experience of having an illness that has profoundly affected her life provides a small lens into the challenges that affect those with similar diagnoses. 

The Four Agreements

by Don Miguel Ruiz

This popular self-help book highlights a general approach to interpersonal relationships that when used, can lead to healthier, stronger interactions with those in our social networks. I found the approach as a whole to be compelling, and was drawn in immediately when Don Miguel Ruiz set the stage by explaining the Toltec mindset. He shares that the Toltec mentality is that we are, in our current state of living, already in hell, and in order to ascend to heaven, we should follow these 4 agreements. In considering the importance of connection and community in deriving meaning, and the challenges inherent in relationship dynamics, this book reminds us that human nature perseveres across eras, and that we have agency to change our experience and approach for the better.

Robert Lowell Setting the River on Fire: A Study of Genius, Mania, and Character

by Kay Redfield

Another of Kay Redfield Jamison's triumphs, this biography, short listed for the Pulitzer prize, provides an in-depth character study of Robert Lowell, a renowned poet whose many accomplishments include being named the poet laureate (at that time called the consultant in poetry to the library of congress) in 1947. Robert Lowell, like others in his family, had a diagnosis of manic depressive illness (now called bipolar disorder), and this affected every aspect of his life. Jamison explores challenges that Lowell experienced due to his mood disorder, while highlighting his ability to repair when well those relationships he strained while sick.

There Is No Place for Us

by Brian Goldstone

This book chronicles the lives of a number of working homeless families. Brian Goldstone provides an account of daily life for families facing food, job and housing insecurity. These challenges are exacerbated by predatory lending agencies, expensive long term stay hotels that limit guest rights, childcare needs and health problems. Social service agencies are poorly resourced and not able to provide the type of support that would allow families to get out of the cycle of job and housing insecurity. These barriers to stable jobs and housing are often impossible to surmount, and lead to desperation and a sense that everything can slip away at any moment. Knowing these stories reminds us that we often have no awareness of the struggles facing those around us. Additionally, these stories are a reminder to remain compassionate, and a call to action to work towards social change.

The Three Christs of Ypsilanti

by Milton Rokeach

This is the account of a 2-year case study led by Milton Rokeach, a social psychologist working at Ypsilanti State Psychiatric Hospital in Michigan. He found 3 patients in the hospital who all identified as Jesus Christ and placed them in small group therapy together, observing their interactions and behavior and at times directly pitting these men against each other. I was, and continue to be, alarmed by this study. To the credit of the authors and publishers, the book is heavily caveated in it's current form. Thus, while many aspects of this longitudinal case study should not be considered wise or helpful for informing clinical care, this book is a stark reminder of past missteps and a continual reminder to strive for humanity and compassion when caring for those suffering from mental illness.