Bipolar books & resources

The following is a list of recommended books and resources about bipolar. The Location(s) available column shows where these books are available, eg, from your local Christchurch City Library (CCL) and/or from the Mental Health Education and Resource Centre (MHERC).

Books can be reserved online and checked out by visiting CCL or MHERC. If a book is not available, a librarian may be able to suggest another book or place a hold on a book. To borrow or place a hold on a book, you must be a member of the library. MHERC can post books and other resources out to its users, including those living in rural areas, and will include a post-paid bag for returning books. Once read, books need to be returned to the library.

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Cover

Title & Author

Description

Year

Location(s) available

An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness

By Kay R Jamison

Year: 2011

Subject: Personal Journey

Here the author examines bipolar illness from the dual perspectives of the healer and the healed, revealing both its terrors and the cruel allure that at times prompted her to resist taking medication. An Unquiet Mind is a memoir of enormous candor, vividness, and wisdom – a deeply powerful book that has both transformed and saved lives.

2011

Location

CCL

MHERC

Living with Someone Who’s Living with Bipolar Disorder

By Chelsea Lowe & Bruce M Cohen

Year: 2010

Subject: Helping a loved one

If you love someone who has bipolar disorder, this warm, sometimes humorous, user friendly book will give you the information you need to deal with changing moods, turbulent ups and downs, depression, mania, and other behaviours that are disturbing.

2010

Location

CCL

MHERC

The Bipolar Workbook: Tools for Controlling Your Mood Swings

By Monica Ramirez Basco

Year: 2015

Subject: CBT-based

Bipolar disorder is a lifelong challenge, but it doesn’t have to rule a person’s life. Many tens of thousands of readers have used the science-based tools in this book to recognize the early warning signs of mood swings, prevent symptoms from coming back, and get more out of treatment. Leading cognitive-behavioral therapy expert Monica Ramirez Basco presents five clear steps for withstanding the seductive pull of manic episodes and escaping the paralysis of depression, complete with vivid stories and practical tools. Significantly revised, the second edition features a new structure, more succinct chapters, and streamlined exercises. Anyone with bipolar illness or less severe mood swings will find essential problem-solving tips and coping strategies.

2015

Location

CCL

Black sails White Rabbits: Cancer was the easiest part

By K A Hall

Year: 2015

Subject: Personal Journey

Kevin A. Hall is an Ivy League graduate of Brown University, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and French literature. Despite being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1989, he went on to become a world-champion Olympic sailor, as well as racing navigator for Emirates Team New Zealand in the 2007 America’s Cup match. A two-time testicular cancer survivor, Hall has spent a successful twenty-five years as a racing navigator, speed testing manager, and sailing performance and racing instruments expert. A brief version of his story was featured in Joel and Ian Gold’s book Suspicious Minds: How Culture Shapes Madness, as the only nonanonymous case study of a patient with Truman Show delusion. Hall currently lives in Auckland, New Zealand, with his wife and their three children.

2015

Location

CCL