Aimed at teens, this series by Cheriton Children’s Book covers a variety of disorders like autism and Down syndrome. It was the first book I read to learn more about bipolar disorder because it contains illustrations, charts, photos and text that do a wonderful job of explaining the disorder. If you’re starting from scratch, this book covers most of the aspects of bipolar.

David J. Miklowitz has a PhD in clinical psychology. He focuses on therapy to treat patients with bipolar disorder. I like his approach because he supports the use of mood-stabilizing medication to support effective therapy. The book touches on how therapy is an extremely helpful part of a person’s treatment as it increases medication adherence, reduces stress and helps patients learn early warning signs for when they may need to reach out for help.

There are times when drugs are the only choice, but I also feel the job of medication is to get a person to a stable state so they can benefit from therapy. “The Bipolar Survival Guide” is a highly influential book and a must-read for both people with bipolar disorder and their families.

Readers can approach the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) book as a stand alone read or companion guide for the WRAP course. Author Mary Ellen Copeland developed the course for people who live in situations where they might not be at full capacity to make decisions for themselves. Most of the time, they are lucid enough to plan out their wishes should they relapse into an addiction or have symptoms of the mental illness that require outside help.

In the WRAP course, you write down anything that could trigger you into a state where you could be at risk of using your substance or get upset enough that you need to reach out for help. Your plan can detail where you want to receive treatment, which doctor you prefer and the type of treatments. It gives the individual the ability to have a say in their treatment.

This book struck me from the very beginning. Kay Redfield Jamison writes with openness and honesty. She describes her youth when she began caring less about school, skipping classes, drinking and smoking with her schoolmates.

One of my favorite parts of the book was when the author was in an abnormal psychology class and everyone was given ink blots to observe and write about. Dr. Jamison dove into the assignment and wrote more than anyone in her class.

After the instructor read all the assignments, he asked Jamison to stay after class. She was terrified. However, the professor was so impressed with her ideas that he offered her a job in research, which opened a whole new world for her.

Jamison talks at length about depression and mania, and how both got in the way of her education and life. She sums up the feeling of going through the mania and depression of bipolar disorder, “On occasion, these periods of total despair would be made even worse by total agitation.”

Later on the page, she discusses her actions during these imbalances,“I became exceedingly restless, angry and irritable, and the only way I could dilute the agitation was to run along the beach or pace back and forth in my room like a polar bear at the zoo.”

I wrote “Through the Withering Storm, My Teen Years with Bipolar” after spending 20 years wishing I could be an author. I believed it was the simplest thing in the world and a guaranteed road to riches, but I changed a great deal while writing.

I aimed to write a book with both entertaining and serious sections, including the many stunts I pulled as a teen. However, the most important part to me was to try to explain the unfairness, the hardships and the pain I went through with my illness.

The book helped me make a name for myself as a writer. It was praised for its honesty and depiction of a young life irreparably damaged by a mental illness no one understood. When I read this book, I remember how far I have come. I estimate I sold 500 copies, and for two years it was recognized as a resource in the Canadian Psychosocial Rehabilitation Library. I haven’t had much time or desire to write more memoirs, but I have been inspired to teach others about the joy of writing and being open about mental illness.