any good fiction books on mental health

[NotYoMomma]

Hi!

I have been really interested recently in psychology and mental health, both historically, fictionally, and in real life.

books I have found interesting are 'the interpretation of murder' - I loved reading about freud and Jung in a fictional sense

and 'the ghost road' by pat barker - I enjoyed reading about shell shock back in the day (the equivalent of ptsd?)

I loved K-Pax (the whole trilogy!) and found it utterly utterly fascinating.

does anyone have any other recommendations for me please?
x

Wilkie Collins is good on this too - The Woman In White is the obvious one, but, 'Man and Wife' has an interesting 'minor' character, with MH issues.

Notes on (from?) an exhibition by Patrick Gale. Excellent read, great plotting and characters, centres on the impact of the mother's mental illness.

In the middle of the Medea complex, seems to be very good, historical fiction, very interesting.

The Secret Sctripture by Sebastian Barry
The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey

The Boy with a Top Knot

on schizophrenia, very good book

Up From the Blue by Susan Henderson deals with parental depression.

I read one recently called The Shock of The Fall, would recommend it.
www.amazon.co.uk/The-Shock-Fall-Nathan-Filer/dp/0007491433

Birdy
www.amazon.co.uk/Birdy-William-Wharton/dp/0007457987/ref=la_B000AQ8QKU_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383687876&sr=1-2

There's also the 1980's film which is also great but set later post Vietnam.

I would second Shock of the Fall - Ive only read 5 books since dd1 was born 4 years ago (I used to get through 5a month) & I flew through this in days!

Just remembered The Queen of the Tamburine by Jane Gardam and Astonishing Splashes of Colour by Clare Morrall, both of which deal with mental health issues. Mark Haddon's A Spot of Bother is about a man having a nervous breakdown.

I loved Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown: Life, Love and Talking it Through by Lorna Martin when I read it a few years ago. Though it isn't really fiction but is from her weekly columns in the Guardian, 'Conversations with my Therapist'.

Also the Examined Life by psychoanalyst Stephen Grosz, which was a book of the week on Radio 4, is interesting though, again, not fiction.

Trick is to keep breathing,Janice galloway

I read 'the shock of the fall' a few weeks ago and thought it was excellent. Have also just finished 'the view on the way down' which was readable but not as excellent.

I'm reading Nearest thing to crazy by elivabeth forbes

Still Alice - a really beautifully written book about a woman with Alzheimer's.