5 Fascinating Books About Mental Health

November 8 - 14 is mental health awareness. Here are five books to expand your understanding and test your beliefs on this often polarizing topic.

1. How to Grow an Addict by J.A. Wright

Forget rock and roll. This debut novel by J.A. Wright is about drugs, sex and a tall stiff drink. How to Grow an Addict tells the story of a young girl's spiraling journey into alcoholism and drug addiction. What starts as a seed (witnessing her father's heavy drinking and mother's excessive pill popping) blossoms into a young addict who is convinced she doesn't have a problem.

2. Waking Up from War: A Better Way Home for Veterans and Nations by Joseph Bobrow

Via images.huffingtonpost.com

Author Joseph Bobrow addresses elements that heal a nation suffering from war trauma in Waking Up from War: A Better Way for Veterans and Nations. It is widely known that veterans suffer from PTSD. However, it is often overlooked when veterans loved ones suffer from the same disorder. Bobrow has been considered an American hero for supporting the community and this book is one of the many ways he is strengthening the nation.

3. When the Sun Bursts: The Enigma of Schizophrenia by Christopher Bollas

Via ecx.images-amazon.com

Working closely with schizophrenia for over 40 years, psychoanalyst and author Christopher Bollas takes readers inside the radical and chaotic minds of schizophrenics. In a sensitive and reminicent narrative Bollas analyzes more humane treatments for these patients and celebrates the courage that they have in this unpredictable world.

4. Mothering Through the Darkness: Women Open Up About the Postpartum Experience by Stephanie Sprenger & Jessica Smock

Via herstoriesproject.com

Pregnancy is one of the happiest times in a woman's life. Raising a newborn brings sunshine to every mother's day. Or does it? In Mothering Through the Darkness thirty mothers come together to share their stories of postpartum depression, anxiety, OCD and other mood disorders brought on by having a baby and how they found light in the darkness.

5. Medical Medium: Secrets Behind Chronic and Mystery Illness and How to Finally Heal by Anthony William

Via ecx.images-amazon.com

Minds are powerful, but can they be more powerful than medicine? Medical Medium is a guide to the secrets behind chronic illnesses and how to heal them. Author Anthony William has helped tens of thousands of people with Lyme disease, fibromyalgia, depression and more all through the powers of spiritual healing. Looking for a longer, healthier life? Read this guidebook!