So, as the title indicates, what is your favorite book (fictional and/or nonfictional) that depicts mental illness? For me, it has to be Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway. When I read it after I had a nervous breakdown about the abuse I went through when I was younger, I could connect to the struggles that the character Septimus went through in terms of feeling alone, isolated, and weary of the world around me. Woolf was one of the first modern writers to depict mental illness in her writings and have it connect back to those who suffer from it. Mrs. Dalloway really helped me out since the book gave me hope that I could be able to regain myself and to not let what happened to me define who I am as a person. So I did it and it made all of the difference. To this day, it is my favorite book of all time and it has a special place in my heart. I do want to read Carrie Fisher's books this summer since she also wrote about mental illness, but, unlike Woolf, did so in a humorous/cheeky way. So what books have helped you guys?
Book which has helped me- Evolution Of A Cro Magnon by John Joseph. It's more about abuse, addiction, and general demons than any explicitly defined flavour of madness, but he's been through so much that I think most people who've been through any of these things will be able to take something from it. Book about real madness- Panzram: A Journal Of Murder- autobiography of a nonce, rapist, serial killer. Published with extensive notes about penology, history, and to an extent criminology. Books about the madness of humans in general- the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky. Would recommend to any young idealist eg. leftist, as they point out the irrational side of human nature beautifully, and through doing so demonstrate how utopian schemes are absurd. keep fighting
Hmm, I have always wanted to read Dostoevsky since I have heard wonderful things about him. I'm an idealist, to an extent, though I always try to keep myself as a rationalist and realist as much as I can. In what way do his writings depict mental illness? Hmm, I will have to give your other books a chance and see if they fall right under my ally. It is good to see that there are so many books out there that deal with a topic most people find to be a bit taboo.
Well I was speaking about madness in a more general sense rather than specifically mental illness- I didn't pay enough attention to the thread title, sorry. That said, many of his characters are mentally ill in some way or another...how does he depict it? Not so much by saying, "this guy is off his rocker," but by depicting the 'unusual' ways in which the characters behave, think, and feel, and how that effects both their lives and the people around them.
I'm currently reading "The Chaos of Standing Still" by Jessica Brody, and I feel like it's a good depiction of anxiety and grief after loss.
Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky is powerful. Nothing gets deeper into the conflicted psychology that I think we all experience. Read it, it’ll change your life.
I think this was the first book I read (except for Con Air the book when I was about 10 lol). A proper hard punk lad I had become friends with lent it to me. I read it hiding behind my machine in the factory I was supposed to be working in- was black with oil by the end. keep fighting
There's a theory out there that all the animal characters of Winnie the Pooh are actually representations of Christopher Robin's mental illnesses... so believe it or not, Winnie the Pooh might actually be a book depicting mental illness. For examples, Eeyore represents depression, Piglet represents anxiety etc.
Recently read a book called ‘the philosophical classics and was surprised to see Winnie the Pooh as one of the most recommended philosophical books!
I've heard of this theory before. I read on it several years ago and found it to be supportable after the theory was broken down and explained on what characters represented what types of mental illnesses.
On the Christopher Robin thing: that Harry Potter lad right... I'm not into that lame Harry Potter stuff but as I understand it, he has to run into a wall in a railway station, which leads him into some secret platform to go off to magic land. If you ask me, he went bonkers cos of living in a cupboard at his parents. He becamse convinced that London Euston had some magic platform, and the poor bastard ran BANG slap bang into a wall. The rest of the books are just stories about his hallucinations while in a coma.
Are you looking for recommendations or just want to know our favorites? Since I am inpatient I will answer both of your questions. Lol. Non-Fiction = A tie between - Andy Behrman's "Electroboy" and Kay Redfield Jamisson's "An Unquiet Mind" Fiction = "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath As for the discussion on Dostoevsky... I would offer a friendly argument that the "madness" depicted in his books as well as other Russian authors during that time period are not depicting "madness" in the modern western conception, a madness which derives from the interior workings of the mind. It is more a "cultural madness" that is derived from the socio-political status of lower class Russians at that time. The Western concept of madness is very different. In the ancient world it was something that "came from outside" usually through a deity. Madness then became sin related (the Greek term is hamartema). Then with the enlightenment madness shifted from the soul to the logical mind (logos) and then finally to the biological mind in the last 150 years. If you are looking for other recommendations let me know. My graduate thesis is on madness and the history of mental illness. I've had Bipolar Disorder for 18 years and have studied quite a bit about mental illness in literature, as well.
Interesting. Maybe true in some of his books or as an overall theme...some characters though, like the Prince, and that woman everyone is trying to bone, in The Idiot, seem to be intended to stand out as truly mentally impaired? keep fighting
That book I mentioned is about a schizophrenic man that uses his many different personalities, or 'aspects' as he calls them, to help him solve crimes. It's a really entertaining read.
Frederich Nietzsche once said "Everything I learned about psychology, I learned form Dostoevsky". Some historians even believe that Freud stole some of his theories from Dostoevsky. Also, The Silver Lining Playbook is a great read.
Freud was defo influenced by Dostoyevsky, he was one of the first authors to really understand how conflicted the human mind was.