Pendulum Resources: Books About Mental Illness and Creativity

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Mental Illness and Creativity

The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity (Inner Workbook) - Julia Cameron , Mark Bryan , J P Tarcher, 1992 -- Asserting that creative expression is the natural direction of life, noted Hollywood screenwriter and director Julia Cameron presents an exciting method for artists to recover their creativity from limiting beliefs, self-sabotage, inattention, fear, jealousy, guilt, addictions, and other forces that inhibit the creative process.

Creative Brainstorms: The Relationship Between Madness and Genius - Russell R. Monroe, M.D.Publisher: Irvington Publishers, Inc. 740 Broadway, NY NY 10003, Irvington, 1992 -- (special order) Robert Lowell and Ernest Hemingway are the main persons the author uses as examples of artists with manic-depression. Others are mentioned: Ezra Pound, Mary Lamb, Virginia Woolf.

The Flight of the Mind : Virginia Woolf's Art and Manic-Depressive Illness - Thomas C. Caramagno , Kay Redfield Jamison , University of California Press, 1996 -- - Paperback

Manic Depression: Illness or Awakening - Robert E. Kelly, Knowledge Unlimited Publishers, 1995 -- The author was diagnosed as manic-depressive in his early twenties: here he refutes the common medical opinion that mania is an illness, instead presenting a case for mania as a reflection of an 'awakening' psyche. His spiritual, psychological and intellectual studies are reflected in a strong presentation which makes a case for an alternative view of manic tendencies. Midwest Book Review

Manic-Depressive Illness - Fredrick K. Goodwin, M.D., & Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., Oxford; 1990 -- This is THE medical textbook for manic depression. It is technical, but excellent. Highly recommended. 1,000 pages. - Hardback

Touched with Fire: Manic-depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament - Kay Redfield Jamison, Free Press: Maxwell Macmillan International, 1993. -- A look at a number of 19th century poets, writers, and composers who were bipolar. Comment by Dr. James D. Watson, Director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Novel laureate and author of The Double Helix: "An emphatic analysis of the creativity that emerges from a little madness and the horror from too much." Highly recommended. - Paperback

Modified November 18, 2005

The information at this web site is for consumers, family members and mental health workers to make informed decisions about the care and treatment of bipolar disorder, AKA manic depression. These pages are not a substitute for consultation with your counselor, therapist, doctor, or psychiatrist.