Book picks similar to
Tears of a Warrior by Janet Seahorn
ptsd
non-fiction
military
memoir
Manic: A Memoir
Terri Cheney - 2008
But behind her seemingly flawless façade lay a dangerous secret—for the better part of her life Cheney had been battling debilitating bipolar disorder and concealing a pharmacy's worth of prescriptions meant to stabilize her moods and make her "normal."In bursts of prose that mirror the devastating highs and extreme lows of her illness, Cheney describes her roller-coaster life with shocking honesty—from glamorous parties to a night in jail; from flying fourteen kites off the edge of a cliff in a thunderstorm to crying beneath her office desk; from electroshock therapy to a suicide attempt fueled by tequila and prescription painkillers.With Manic, Cheney gives voice to the unarticulated madness she endured. The clinical terms used to describe her illness were so inadequate that she chose to focus instead on her own experience, in her words, "on what bipolar disorder felt like inside my own body." Here the events unfold episodically, from mood to mood, the way she lived and remembers life. In this way the reader is able to viscerally experience the incredible speeding highs of mania and the crushing blows of depression, just as Cheney did. Manic does not simply explain bipolar disorder—it takes us in its grasp and does not let go.In the tradition of Darkness Visible and An Unquiet Mind, Manic is Girl, Interrupted with the girl all grown up. This harrowing yet hopeful book is more than just a searing insider's account of what it's really like to live with bipolar disorder. It is a testament to the sharp beauty of a life lived in extremes.
Stop Surviving Start Fighting
Jazz Thornton - 2020
Multiple attempts followed and she spent time in psychiatric wards and under medical supervision as she rode the rollercoaster of depression and anxiety through her teenage years – yet the attempts continued.Find out what Jazz learned about how her negative thought patterns came to be, and how she turned those thoughts – and her life – around. Who and what helped, and what didn't help. The insights she gives will help create a greater understanding of those grappling with mental illness, and those around them who desperately want to help.Jazz went on to attend film school, and to co-found Voices of Hope, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping those with mental health issues and show them there is a way forward. She creates online content to provide hope and help.Her first video Dear Suicidal Me has had over 80 million views all around the world. She went on to create Jessica's Tree, a web series that follows the 24 hours between a friend, Jess, going missing and the discovery of her body. It provides insights into Jessica's struggles, to help people better understand those suffering from depression. https-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QFU_qg7Msk Jessica's Tree was viewed more than 230,000 times in the two months following its release in March 2019 and immediately began winning international recognition and awards, including the Huawei Mate30 Pro New Zealand Television Awards 2019 Best Web Series.The process and the delicate decisions that had to be made to create Jessica's Tree have themselves been documented in a film about Jazz called The Girl on the Bridge, due for release early in 2020.
Changing Normal: How I Helped My Husband Beat Cancer
Marilu Henner - 2016
Within days of their first meeting in 2003, they were planning a life together, and soon they were inseparable as Michael became ever more integrated into Marilu’s family. But after only months they were thrown the ultimate curveball: Michael was diagnosed with bladder cancer, and then lung cancer. Marilu refused to lose the love of her life so easily. With the knowledge she had gained on her own health journey, chronicled in several of her bestselling books, Marilu set about finding a path for Michael that would use the best of Eastern and Western medicine to beat his cancers and return Michael to optimal health. Michael eschewed most traditional treatments and with Marilu’s help—aided by knowledgeable and sympathetic doctors—he forged his own path. In this moving and informative book, Marilu tells the story of their fast-paced romance and how this contrasted with the day-to-day battle for Michael’s life. Michael tells the story from his point of view: the search for the cause of his cancer, the mental anguish he felt as he realized how responsible he was for his condition, the physical and mental hardships that he had to overcome, and the triumph of love that made it all worthwhile. Not a “how-to” book in the traditional sense, Changing Normal is a book of empowerment, a call for all those facing similar challenges to take responsibility for their lives, to search for the causes of their illness and address them directly. Written with an engaging voice, a sense of humor, and life-changing wisdom, Changing Normal is a personal and touching look at how Marilu and Michael faced down a cancer diagnosis and came out the other side happier, healthier, and more in love than ever.
Obsessed: A Memoir of My Life with OCD
Allison Britz - 2017
She was a dedicated student with tons of extracurricular activities, friends, and loving parents at home.But after awakening from a vivid nightmare in which she was diagnosed with brain cancer, she was convinced the dream had been a warning. Allison believed that she must do something to stop the cancer in her dream from becoming a reality.It started with avoiding sidewalk cracks and quickly grew to counting steps as loudly as possible. Over the following weeks, her brain listed more dangers and fixes. She had to avoid hair dryers, calculators, cell phones, computers, anything green, bananas, oatmeal, and most of her own clothing.Unable to act “normal,” the once-popular Allison became an outcast. Her parents questioned her behavior, leading to explosive fights. When notebook paper, pencils, and most schoolbooks were declared dangerous to her health, her GPA imploded, along with her plans for the future.Finally, she allowed herself to ask for help and was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. This brave memoir tracks Allison’s descent and ultimately hopeful climb out of the depths.
Inside I'm Hurting: Practical Strategies for Supporting Children with Attachment Difficulties in School. Louise Michelle Bombr
Louise Bomber - 2006
This work includes strategies that provide teachers and teaching assistants with different perspectives, practical tools and the confidence for supporting these children.
Bombshell: Explosive Medical Secrets That Will Redefine Aging
Suzanne Somers - 2012
Mehmet Oz, Suzanne Somers has repeatedly opened up new terrain to health seekers worldwide. And now, with "Bombshell, " she does it again. Acting like your personal medical detective, she has found the most advanced scientists, doctors, and health professionals and gotten them to share jaw-dropping advances that will stop deterioration and set you on the path to restoration and healthy longevity.By taking advantage of these new bombshell advancements, you can live longer than ever with great quality of life, and experience a different way to age: with great health, strong bones, vitality, a working brain, and sizzling sexuality. All of it is yours for the taking if you are willing to make some simple, effective changes.In "Bombshell" you will learn about explosive medical secrets utilizing the groundbreaking technologies of today, or the very near future, that will allow us all to truly maintain the fountain of youth, including: How nanobots, small robots the size of blood cells, will be injected into the human bloodstream to clean the blood supply and literally wipe out today s most feared diseases How stem cell procedures, using one s own adult stem cells, can be used to prevent disease and even regrow body parts; including how Suzanne s breast was reconstructed after cancer with no implant in the first clinical trial of its kind in the United States How balancing hormones with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy can improve your internal health, well-being, vitality, looks, and sex drive How the cure to cancer might be just around the corner by preventing it at the source with injections of human, cancer-resistant white blood cells How a supplement to regrow telomeres at a cellular level will restore the human body to a younger internal age and reverse signs of aging such as disease, baldness, wrinkles, and loss of hearing and eyesight. And it s available now! One after another, she shares the breakthroughs that you can use today to keep you in top shape so you can embrace the near future and all it will have to offer."
A Very Hungry Girl
Jessica Weiner - 2003
She was so desperate to be accepted and valued that she spiraled into an eating disorder, experiencing the attendant lack of self-esteem that rules--and almost ruined--her life.This compelling book relates Jessica's very personal story, and also captures her unique persona as she travels the country as a performer and motivational speaker listening to thousands of other people's stories. Through her work, Jessica has become the voice of her generation and speaks with a relatable and realistic point of view. Jessica's work has received national attention by The Washington Post, CNN, MTV and Teen People Magazine.
Bill W.: A Biography of Alcoholics Anonymous Cofounder Bill Wilson
Francis Hartigan - 2000
Bob Smith, founded Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935, his hope was that AA would become a safe haven for those who suffered from this disease. Thirty years after his death, AA continues to help millions of alcoholics recover from what had been commonly regarded as a hopeless addiction. Still, while Wilson was a visionary for millions, he was no saint. After cofounding Alcoholics Anonymous, he stayed sober for over thirty-five years, helping countless thousands rebuild their lives. But at the same time, Wilson suffered form debilitating bouts of clinical depression, was a womanizer, and experimented with LSD.Francis Hartigan, the former secretary and confidant to Wilson's wife, Lois, has exhaustively researched his subject, writing with a complete insider's knowledge. Drawing on extensive interviews with Lois Wilson and scores of early members of AA, he fully explores Wilson's organizational genius, his devotion to the cause, and almost martyr-like selflessness. That Wilson, like all of us, had to struggle with his own personal demons makes this biography all the more moving and inspirational. Hartigan reveals the story of Wilson's life to be as humorous, horrific, and powerful as any of the AA vignettes told daily around the world.
Going Back: How a former refugee, now an internationally acclaimed surgeon, returned to Iraq to change the lives of injured soldiers and civilians
Munjed Al Muderis - 2019
The book also detailed his early work as a pioneering orthopaedic surgeon at the cutting edge of world medicine. In Going Back, Munjed shares the extraordinary journey that his life-changing new surgical technique has taken him on. Through osseointegration, he implants titanium rods into the human skeleton and attaches robotic limbs, allowing patients genuine, effective and permanent mobility. Munjed has performed this operation on hundreds of Australian civilians, wounded British soldiers who've lost legs in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a survivor of the Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand. But nothing has been as extraordinary as his return to Iraq after eighteen years, at the invitation of the Iraqi government, to operate on soldiers, police and civilian amputees wounded in the horrific war against ISIS. These stories are both heartbreaking and full of hope, and are told from the unique perspective of a refugee returning to the place of his birth as a celebrated international surgeon.
Waiting for First Light: My Ongoing Battle with PTSD
Roméo Dallaire - 2016
Rom�o Dallaire, traumatized by witnessing genocide on an imponderable scale in Rwanda, reflects in these pages on the nature of PTSD and the impact of that deep wound on his life since 1994, and on how he motivates himself and others to humanitarian work despite his constant struggle. Though he had been a leader in peace and in war at all levels up to deputy commander of the Canadian Army, his PTSD led to his medical dismissal from the Canadian Forces in April 2000, a blow that almost killed him. But he crawled out of the hole he fell into after he had to take off the uniform, and he has been inspiring people to give their all to multiple missions ever since, from ending genocide to eradicating the use of child soldiers to revolutionizing officer training so that our soldiers can better deal with the muddy reality of modern conflict zones and to revolutionizing our thinking about the changing nature of conflict itself. His new book is as compelling and original an account of suffering and endurance as Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking and William Styron's Darkness Visible.
Being Sober: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting To, Getting Through, and Living in Recovery
Harry Haroutunian - 2013
Oz Show in Special Addiction Episode with Steven Tyler**The disease of addiction affects 1 out of 10 people in the United States, and is a devastating—often, fatal—illness. Now, from the physician director of the renowned Betty Ford Center, comes a step-by-step plan with a realistic "one-day-at-a-time" approach to a disease that so often seems insurmountable. With a focus on reclaiming the power that comes from a life free of dependency, Being Sober walks readers through the many phases of addiction and recovery without judgment or the overly "cultish" language of traditional 12-step plans.It also addresses the latest face of this disease: the "highly functioning" addict, or someone who is still able to achieve personal and professional success even as they battle a drug or alcohol problem. Dr. Haroutunian tackles this provocative issue head-on, offering new insight into why you don't have to "bottom out" to get help. Dr. Haroutunian is himself a recovering alcoholic and knows firsthand the challenges of sobriety. His background and expertise in the field of alcohol and drug treatment give him a powerful edge and perspective that is unparalleled in his field.Using clear, straightforward language, Being Sober offers a proven path toward an emotional sobriety and a rewarding new life based on gratitude, dignity, and self-respect. Including a Foreword written by Steven Tyler.
Becoming Myself: A Psychiatrist's Memoir
Irvin D. Yalom - 2017
Yalom puts himself on the couch in a lapidary memoir.Irvin D. Yalom has made a career of investigating the lives of others. In this profound memoir, he turns his writing and his therapeutic eye on himself. He opens his story with a nightmare: He is twelve and is riding his bike past the home of an acne-scarred girl. Like every morning, he calls out, hoping to befriend her, "Hello Measles!" But in his dream, the girl's father makes Yalom understand that his daily greeting had hurt her. For Yalom, this was the birth of empathy; he would not forget the lesson. As Becoming Myself unfolds, we see the birth of the insightful thinker whose books have been a beacon to so many. This is not simply a man's life story, Yalom's reflections on his life and development are an invitation for us to reflect on the origins of our own selves and the meanings of our lives.
Among You: The Extraordinary True Story of a Soldier Broken By War
Jake Wood - 2013
Disillusioned with the dullness and amorality of the banking world, he escapes back to the army for a third tour of duty. But in Afghanistan he discovers the savage, dehumanizing effects that war has on both the body and the mind. Diagnosed with chronic PTSD on his return, he must now fight the last enemy—himself—in order to exorcise the ghosts of his past. Brutally honest and beautifully written, this memoir brings home the harsh reality of frontline combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the courage of the troops who risk their lives for their country, as well as revealing the devastating aftereffects of service.
Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and Asperger Syndrome
Stephen M. Shore - 2002
Drawing on personal and professional experience, Stephen Shore, who is currently completing his doctoral degree in special education, combines three voices to create a touching and, at the same time, highly informative book for professionals as well as individuals who have Asperger Syndrome. Get a unique perspective on AS across the years!
Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror
Judith Lewis Herman - 1992
In the intervening years, Herman’s volume has changed the way we think about and treat traumatic events and trauma victims. In a new afterword, Herman chronicles the incredible response the book has elicited and explains how the issues surrounding the topic have shifted within the clinical community and the culture at large. Trauma and Recovery brings a new level of understanding to a set of problems usually considered individually. Herman draws on her own cutting-edge research in domestic violence as well as on the vast literature of combat veterans and victims of political terror, to show the parallels between private terrors such as rape and public traumas such as terrorism. The book puts individual experience in a broader political frame, arguing that psychological trauma can be understood only in a social context. Meticulously documented and frequently using the victims’ own words as well as those from classic literary works and prison diaries, Trauma and Recovery is a powerful work that will continue to profoundly impact our thinking.