Book Review: The Nutters Club and more...
The recent launch of The Nutters Club book is a great opportunity to remind MindNet readers of the book reviews available on the Mental Health Foundation's website. We take a brief look at two new books and link you to other recent reviews online.
• The Nutters Club
• Taming the Tiger
• Other book reviews
The Nutters Club by Mike King
"Secrets keep you sick - opening up is what The Nutter's Club book is all about. [The new book] helps shine a light on mental illness. The stories are fascinating and true accounts of others' experiences, conveyed with passion and humanity." Kim Higginson, Information Officer, Mental Health Foundation.
The Nutters Club: Helping nutters from the inside out by Mike King has taken the hugely popular Nutters Club radio show on Radio Live and delved into key people's stories.
Some of the stories come from well-known New Zealanders including Split Enz bass player Mike Chunn, actress Nicola Kawana, comedian couple Chris Brain and Irene Pink, Carterton Mayor Gary McPhee and top fashion designer Denise L'Estrange-Corbet.
The remaining stories come from other less well-known individuals such as mental health consumer and activist Susie Crooks. She says this new self-help book demystifies what people with experience of mental illness go through and highlights that they do recover.
Susie believes people's stories give a human face to mental distress. "You have to use examples and language that resonate with people. That's what Mike's book has done," she says.
Each story describes a different issue such as depression, alcoholism and bipolar disorder. There is running commentary from both Mike and Auckland psychiatrist David Codyre (aka The Nutcracker) - and the effect is that we learn a lot about coping mechanisms along the way without being preached at.
The Nutters Club book reached the Top 20 list at The Warehouse on 1 June 2011. It is published by Random House New Zealand and retails for $39.95. Read the book review.
Taming the Tiger - a personal encounter with manic depression by Michael Morrissey
Award-winning author Michael Morrissey gives the reader a well written, revealing and compelling story, when at the age of 56 he experienced mental illness for the first time.
Morrissey's memoir, Taming the Tiger (2011) documents his experiences with bipolar disorder, and provides a frank account of his journey through two serious bipolar episodes (in Auckland and Malaysia).
Judi Clements, Chief Executive, Mental Health Foundation says, "Taming the Tiger gives a great deal of detail and commentary and is a compelling read. Parts of it made me smile, other parts made me wince, and some parts serve as a vital reminder that service responses still need to improve."
The publishers describe the book as a well-written and original story: "Despite the seriousness of the illness, Michael shares his struggle in an honest and moving way. Michael's manic delusions include a fantastical get rich diet scheme intended to make him the richest man in the world and enable him to save very endangered species on the planet; levitating from the lawn; and being the Messiah - alas no miracles performed.
"This book should be compulsory reading for psychiatric professionals to help them understand how they should regard and care for their patients. The general reader will find much of the story amusing and revealing. Some will find their attitudes towards mental illness radically challenged."
Published by Polygraphia Ltd. RRP $39.00
Listen to Kim Hill's interview with Michael Morrissey on SATURDAY MORNING (28 May 2011)
Read Bipolar - a coin with two sides by Nicola Murphy (Western Leader, 6 May 2011)
Thinking you're the Messiah and wanting to save the world might sound like something out of a fantastical novel. But it was a real-life experience for writer Michael Morrissey. Read more.
Read full book reviews of the following books
One step at a time by Claire Anderson
Reviewed by: Susie Hill, Medical writer. Published by: Kukupa Press.
Eight days at Outward Bound in the Marlborough Sounds are what Ironman Claire Anderson says turned her life around. "To this day I am happiest when I'm living by the words I wrote down at Outward Bound," she reveals. Claire was shipped headlong into years of depression and suicidal behaviour following unwanted sex with a man she had trusted...
All Blacks Don't Cry by John Kirwan.
Reviewed by: Jill Mcardle, Information officer, Mental Health Foundation. Published by: Penguin 2010.
A prominent and revered figure at the dawn of the professional age of rugby, John Kirwan seemed to live a charmed life. Nobody knew, though, that behind closed doors ‘JK' was living a life of tormented fear, suffering from regular panic attacks. Afflicted with depression for many years Kirwan was able to survive by reaching out and seeking help from those closest to him...
Borderline personality disorder: personal journeys of recovery, inspiration and hope. Journeys of recovery stories: Alison and Bethany, Edited by Roy Krawitz.
Reviewed by: Susie Hill, Medical writer
So many negative words and phrases came out at me from this innocuous-looking 51-page, A5 soft-cover booklet. They flew at me and battered me about for days - how could people I know and love have suffered, and some continue to suffer, like this on a daily basis?
