Two of my all-time favorites (I don't know why they didn't come to mind first...) And, as a suggestion from one of my esteemed psychiatric colleagues, I have included a link to the book on Barnes & Noble through the title.
Where is the Mango Princess? A Journey Back from Brain Injury - Cathy Crimmons
This was a recommendation from one of my attendings. I read it in one afternoon - it's such a good story. I think it is one that I have most frequently recommended to patients as I am a Navy doctor and meet patients dealing with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) from the war.
Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood
This is one of the most recent books I read and it easily made its way to my 25 favorites list. I don't know what it was about this story - it deals with a young servant girl who is involved in the murder of her master and his mistress - but I was hooked. It's a bit on the long side, but I was halfway done before I knew it! I'm going to read some of the author's other books now...
44 Scotland Street and Espresso Tales - Alexander McCall Smith
On a lighter note, McCall Smith is one of my all-time favorite authors. I have read every book that he's written and would be hard-pressed to choose a favorite. However, these two books are in this posting because of the psychiatric references that they contain. I listen to books on CD in the car and especially loved listening to these books. The characters are so endearing and some of the situations they're involved in made me laugh hysterically! I'm just hoping that the next in series comes out quickly. :)
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Books I recommend for psychiatrists
So I've been thinking about creating a "books I've read list" for a long time and recently decided that a blog would be the easiest way to go about it. This entry will include recommendations for psychiatrists, as I'm currently in my residency and am always looking for books that will help me better relate to my patients. They're not listed in any particular order, just in the order that I remember them. :) Also - it will most likely be posted in multiple segments as I get free time in chunks while I'm on call.
The Minds of Billy Milligan - Daniel Keyes
This book was a great read - it is based on the true story of Billy Milligan, a young man from Ohio who was the first patient with Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly Multiple Personality Disorder) to plead "insanity" for crimes committed, including armed robbery and rape in the 1970s. This was interesting to me as I went to medical school at Ohio University and Billy was intermittently a patient at the mental health hospital there in Athens. Additionally, the author Daniel Keyes (best known for writing Flowers for Algernon), is a professor emeritus there and interviewed Daniel when he was in Athens. DID is a much debated diagnosis in psychiatry and it was interesting to read about this patient and think about my feelings on it.
Girls of Tender Age: A Memoir - Mary-Ann Tyrone Smith
I loved this book because it tells about a significant event that occurred in the author's young life in an easy narrative fashion, and contains insight into growing up with an autistic sibling (in this case, before autism was a readily diagnosed or accepted condition.) Although it was moving, it also contained humor and I found that the pages flew by quickly.
Abnormal Personality through Literature - Sue and Alan Stone
I'm currently reading this book and absolutely love it as it combines two of my favorite things in life: reading and psychiatry. It would have made such a great research project - I'm almost jealous that the authors were able to work on this. It makes me think of contemporary works that display characterological traits - more to come on this later. Anyway - it's more of a book that you can read bits and pieces of at a time instead of reading straight through. I found it through a used book store as it is not currently published.
Born on a Blue Day - Daniel Tammet
I happened to see this book at B&N one day and was ecstatic! It was a unique opportunity to look inside the thought process of a man with Asperger's Syndrome and savant abilities. At times, the detail was almost overwhelming, but it was fascinating to read his description of everyday events and think about how differently he sees the world. Definitely a good read for anyone who knows a person diagnosed with one of the Pervasive Developmental Disorder spectrum conditions.
K - that's enough for right now. I will be adding many, many more books to this site with time!
The Minds of Billy Milligan - Daniel Keyes
This book was a great read - it is based on the true story of Billy Milligan, a young man from Ohio who was the first patient with Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly Multiple Personality Disorder) to plead "insanity" for crimes committed, including armed robbery and rape in the 1970s. This was interesting to me as I went to medical school at Ohio University and Billy was intermittently a patient at the mental health hospital there in Athens. Additionally, the author Daniel Keyes (best known for writing Flowers for Algernon), is a professor emeritus there and interviewed Daniel when he was in Athens. DID is a much debated diagnosis in psychiatry and it was interesting to read about this patient and think about my feelings on it.
Girls of Tender Age: A Memoir - Mary-Ann Tyrone Smith
I loved this book because it tells about a significant event that occurred in the author's young life in an easy narrative fashion, and contains insight into growing up with an autistic sibling (in this case, before autism was a readily diagnosed or accepted condition.) Although it was moving, it also contained humor and I found that the pages flew by quickly.
Abnormal Personality through Literature - Sue and Alan Stone
I'm currently reading this book and absolutely love it as it combines two of my favorite things in life: reading and psychiatry. It would have made such a great research project - I'm almost jealous that the authors were able to work on this. It makes me think of contemporary works that display characterological traits - more to come on this later. Anyway - it's more of a book that you can read bits and pieces of at a time instead of reading straight through. I found it through a used book store as it is not currently published.
Born on a Blue Day - Daniel Tammet
I happened to see this book at B&N one day and was ecstatic! It was a unique opportunity to look inside the thought process of a man with Asperger's Syndrome and savant abilities. At times, the detail was almost overwhelming, but it was fascinating to read his description of everyday events and think about how differently he sees the world. Definitely a good read for anyone who knows a person diagnosed with one of the Pervasive Developmental Disorder spectrum conditions.
K - that's enough for right now. I will be adding many, many more books to this site with time!
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