Favorite books about schizophrenia

Lounge
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I love the book called The Quiet Room by Lori Schiller. I also like The Center Cannot Hold by Eryn Saks. What are some of your favorite books about this illness?

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Schizophrenia for Dummies explained many aspects of schizophrenia in clear, simple and understandable terms. I read both the books you mentioned, and yes, they were good books.

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Thrive with Schizophrenia by Kristen Stone was a big encouragement to me. It has a lot of daily coping tips in it.
I also have Eyln Saks book too. Her book encouraged me to finally accept my diagnosis but not feel like it defines my life if you know what I mean.

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The center cannot hold was pretty good

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I donā€™t read any books about SZ. I already live with my own, no interest in reading about what someone else has going on. My goal is to have less SZ in my life, not more.

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Iā€™ve heard of ā€˜the center cannot holdā€™ but never read it. Iā€™m curious what the title means, does it explain the meaning in the book?

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An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison

Itā€™s not about SZ per say, but Bipolar disorder.

Some of the things mentioned in the book applies directly to SZ.

I suggest giving it a read.

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8

I think it is a line from a poem

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9

A good one for teens, ie for my daughter, was Helicopter Man. Its a work of fiction I think but its an accurate portrayal I feel.

I like The Beginners Guide to Sanity, which is tailored towards a UK audience, and offers a lot of self-help and direction in getting help.

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10

Thanks Jimbob. I did a Google and got more info itā€™s from a powerful poem written in the aftermath of WW1.

I found this explanation:

In Yates interpretation of ā€œthe center cannot holdā€ he describes it as a situation where everything is out of control, a place where you cannot feel safe anymore because the ā€œcenterā€ which holds everything together can no longer hold the weight and collapses whereby everything falls apart.

Sounds to me like it could refer to schizophrenia generally or to a psychotic break.

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11

I have not read any book but I watched few movies !

I want to read but unable to give that effort.

Self help book I always do.

Hey are there any book that direction to recovery.

Recovery as in content In What ever anyone does they should be content

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  • Recovering Sanityā€¦ Edward Podvoll
  • The Complete Family Guide to Schizophrenia
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I read that Elyn Sacks one too. But thereā€™s one non-fiction sz book that blew my mind. Was so good. Read it a few times. Its called Recovered, not cured by Richard Mclean. I related a lot to his story. And not just with the sz symptom parts but also a lot of his just general life stuff.

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I feel youā€¦for the same reason Iā€™m starting to not want to listen to self help books all the time. Feels lik it just takes up more time that could be used doing something positive.

I have found comfort in some of the books Iā€™ve read but ultimately I really want to learn how to be ok with all of the sz crap in my life. Lately it feels like almost every post is some sort of attack in me and I really do t know how to deal with it. Do y want to leave the forum but kinda feeling like I have less friends here now ,ā€¦

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I liked Surviving Schizophrenia by E. Fuller Torrey. Itā€™s a go to guide for people with schizophrenia. I was obsessed with schizophrenia material after my diagnosis.

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The autobiography of a schizophrenic girl. It was before medicine and she had a good therapist/doctor. Iā€™ve had too many therapists to really feel comfortable. They always leave before long.

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Salingerā€™s ā€œThe Catcher in the Ryeā€ is sometimes claimed to be about psychosis.

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whether or not it is explicitly about psychosis or not, that book is extremely meaningful to me and my struggle with SZ. Holdenā€™s personal turmoil and especially the penultimate titular monologue highly resonate with me.
given J.D. Salingerā€™s behavior it is likely he suffered from some kind of psychological disorder.

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19

I have only ever been psychotic, not schizophrenic. That experience and The Catcher in the Rye felt similar, at some point.

I read the final chapter again on Internet Archive. If you google Internet Archive and The Catcher in the Rye it seems you can read it without even logging in and borrowing the book.

I could not identify the ā€œpenultimate titular monologueā€ (the whole book seems to be a monologue) but I enjoyed reading the last chapter.

thank you

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itā€™s from chapter 22:

ā€œI thought it was ā€˜If a body catch a body,ā€™ā€ I said. "Anyway, I keep picturing all
these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little
kids, and nobodyā€™s aroundā€“nobody big, I meanā€“except me. And Iā€™m standing on the edge
of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over
the cliffā€“I mean if theyā€™re running and they donā€™t look where theyā€™re going I have to come
out from somewhere and catch them. Thatā€™s all Iā€™d do all day. Iā€™d just be the catcher in the
rye and all. I know itā€™s crazy, but thatā€™s the only thing Iā€™d really like to be. I know itā€™s
crazy."

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