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Books
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Q. What are some books about depression?

This is an shorter version from a list of books compiled from the personal recommendations of the members/readers/participants of the Walkers-in-Darkness mailing list, the alt.support.depression newsgroup, and the Mood Disorders Support Network on AOL.

The full list is available at the Walkers ftp site (see Internet Resources) and at the MIT *.answers site, rtfm.mit.edu; pub/usenet/alt-support-depression/books

If you have any additions, updates, corrections, etc. for this list, please send email to "danash@aol.com" (Dan Ash).

~A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic Depressive Illness.~ Patty "Anna" Duke and Gloria Hochman. Bantam Books 1992 Comments: Patty Duke's very personal account of her account of her struggle with manic-depression.

~The Broken Brain: The Biological Revolution in Psychiatry.~ Nancy Andreasen, MD, Ph.D.. Harper. Perennial. 1984

~Care of the Soul.~ Thomas Moore. Harper. Perennial. 1992

~The Consumers Guide to Psychotherapy.~ Jack Engler, Ph.D. and Daniel Goleman, Ph.D. Fireside-Simon & Schuster. 1992

~Cognitive Therapy & The Emotional Disorders.~ Aaron T. Beck, MD Penguin. Meridian. 1976

~Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness.~ William Styron. Vintage. 1990.

~The Depression Handbook.~ Workbook. Mary Ellen Copeland

~Depression and it's Treatment.~ John H. Greist, MD.. and James W. Jefferson, MD.. Warner Books. 1992

~The Essential Guide to Psychiatric Drugs.~ Jack Gorman. St. Martin's Press. 1992

~Everything You Wanted to Know About Prozac.~ Jeffrey M. Jonas, MD and Ron Schaumburg. Bantam. 1991

~Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy.~ David Burns, MD. Signet. 1980 Self-help cognitive therapy techniques for depression, anxiety, etc.

~The Feeling Good Handbook.~ David D. Burns, MD. Plume. 1989

~Good Mood: The New Psychology of Overcoming Depression.~ Julian L. Simon. Open Court Press. 1993.

~The Good News About Depression.~ Mark S. Gold. Bantam. 1986

~Listening To Prozac.~ Peter D. Kramer, M.D. Viking. 1993 A psychiatrist explores some of the implications of anti- depressants, and especially of Prozac's unusual effects on the personality. Kramer also discusses the recent research on depression, as well as several other issues which seem linked to depression.

~How to Heal Depression.~ Harold H. Bloomfield, MD and Peter McWilliams. Prelude Press. 1994

~Manic-Depressive Illness.~ Fredrick K. Goodwin, MD, & Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D.. Oxford. 1990

~Munchausen's Pigtail.~ Psychotherapy and 'Reality': Essays & Lectures. Paul Walzlawick, Ph.D.. Norton

~On The Edge Of Darkness.~ Kathy Cronkite. Doubleday. 1994

~Overcoming Depression.~ Demitri F. and Janice Papolos. Harper. Perennial. 1992. Good basic text on the various aspects of depression and manic depression. Considered by some to be a "classic" in the field.

~A Primer of Drug Action: A Concise, Non technical Guide to the" "Actions,Uses and Side Effects of Psychoactive Drugs.~ Robert M. Julien. W.H. Freeman. 1992. 6 ed.

~Prozac: Questions and Answers for Patients, Families and Physicians.~ Dr. Robert Fieve, MD... Avon. 1993

~Questions and Answers about Depression and its Treatment.~ Dr. Ivan Goldberg. The Charles Press in Philadelphia. 1993. A 112-page FAQ on depression that has appeared in book form. Dr. Goldberg has also contributed to the FAQ for a.s.d. and frequently posts to Walkers-in-darkness.

~A Reason to Live.~ Melody Beattie (General Editor).. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. 1992. This is a book that explores reasons to live and reasons not to commit suicide. It also contains suggestions for life-affirming actions people can take to help themselves get through those times when they're struggling to find a reason to live.

~From Sad to Glad.~ Nathan S. Kline, MD. Ballantine Books.. 1991 20th printing. Out of date pharmacologically "but excellent otherwise." Kline says: "Psychiatry has labored too long under the delusion that every emotional malfunction requires an endless talking out of everything the patient ever experienced."

~Season of the Mind.~ Norman Rosenthal, MD.. This book explores Seasonal Affective Disorder.

~Talking Back to Prozac.~ Peter Breggin. St. Martins Press. 1994

~Touched with Fire: Manic-depressive Illness and the Artistic~ ~Temperament.~ Kay Jamison. A look at a number of 19th century poets, writers, and composers who were Bipolar. This book in quoted liberally in this FAQ under "Who are some famous people with depression?"

~Toxic Psychiatry: Why Therapy, Empathy, and Love Must Replace Drugs,~ ~Electroshock, and the Biochemical Theories of the 'New Psychiatry'.~ Peter Breggin. St. Martin's Press. 1991

~We Heard the Angels of Madness: One Family's Struggle with Manic~ ~Depression.~ Diane and Lisa Berger This book was written by a mother who had a son stricken by manic-depression at 19 and documents the rough road they walked to get him the help he needed. Very heartfelt and well written.

~Understanding Depression.~ Donald Klein, MD, and Paul Wender, MD (founders of the National Assn. for Depressive Illness). Oxford, 1993 Melvin Sabshin, MD, Medical Director, American Psychiatric Assn. writes: "A very good source of information that will be extraordinarily useful to patients and their families."

~The Way Up From Down.~ Priscilla Slagle, M.D. This book stresses a nutritional approach heavy on the amino acid tyrosine, and a complete vitamin supplement program.

~What You Need to Know About Psychiatric Drugs.~ Stuart C. Yudofsky, MD; Robert E. Hales, MD; and Tom Ferguson, MD. Ballantine. 1991

~When am I Going to Be Happy?~ Penelope Russianoff, Ph.D.. Bantam. 1989

~When the Blues Won't Go Away.~ Robert Hirschfeld, MD... 1991 Concerns new approaches to Dysthymic Disorder and other forms of chronic low-grade depression.

~Winter Blues: Seasonal Affective Disorder and How to Overcome It.~ Norman Rosenthal, MD... The Guilfold Press. 1993

~You Are Not Alone.~ Julia Thorne with Larry Rothstein. Harper Collins. 1993 Comments: The writings of depressives, for both depressives and those who need to understand them. Shervert Frazier, MD, former director of the National Institutes of Mental Health says: "A ground breaking book that...reveals the impact of depression on the lives of everyday people. This little book is must reading for sufferers, those associated with depression, and mental health professionals"

~You Mean I Don't Have To Feel This Way?~ Collette Dowling. Bantam. 1993 Comments: Jeffrey M. Jonas, MD writes: "An important book that is filled with information helpful to sufferers of mood and eating disorders and other illnesses. It should be read not only by lay people but also by professionals who deal with these illnesses."