#beth mccoll

Disclaimer: I don’t know how to review. Only flail. No review.

Mind On Fire by Arnold Thomas Fanning. A late entry - I read it over Christmas - but one of my top reads of the year. Fanning writes honestly and unflinchingly about his journey through and around mental illness (bipolar) including time spent in psychiatric hospitals, New York, the streets of London, and the boxroom of his father’s Dublin home. The lows are very low but thankfully the book ends on a positive note and it deservedly got a lot of attention when it was published.

How To Come Alive Again by Beth McColl. A practical guide to dealing with mental illness that’s also very funny. There are first aid tips, example scripts to help you talk to your GP about how you’re feeling, suggestions for when you can’t get out of bed, what to do if you or someone you know struggles with dissociating, and lots and lots of reassurances that you. will. be. fine. I’d also recommend this to anyone who knows someone with a mental illness.

The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk. An in-depth look at trauma and the primary and secondary effects it can have on a person, their body, and their relationship with the world around them, others, and themselves. It is full of case studies that explore trauma-related concepts and therapies and it left me wishing that everyone who works in mental health could be mentored by Van Der Kolk.