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Title details for Profiles in Mental Health Courage by Patrick J. Kennedy - Available

Profiles in Mental Health Courage

by Patrick J. Kennedy
Stephen Fried
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
One of Harvard Public Health Magazine's Best Public Health Books of the Year
Profiles in Mental Health Courage portrays the dramatic journeys of a diverse group of Americans who have struggled with their mental health. This book offers deeply compelling stories about the bravery and resilience of those living with a variety of mental illnesses and addictions.

Several years ago, Patrick J. Kennedy shared the story of his personal and family challenges with mental illness and addiction—and the nation’s—in his bestselling memoir, A Common Struggle. Now, he and his Common Struggle coauthor, award-winning healthcare journalist Stephen Fried, have crafted this powerful new book sharing the untold stories of others—a special group who agreed to talk about their illnesses, treatments, and struggles for the first time.

When Kennedy’s uncle, President John F. Kennedy, published his classic book Profiles in Courage, he hoped to inspire “political courage” by telling the stories of brave U.S. senators who changed America.
In Profiles in Mental Health Courage, former Congressman Kennedy adapts his uncle’s idea to inspire the “mental health courage” it takes for those with these conditions to treat their illnesses, and risk telling their stories to help America face its crisis in our families, our workplaces, our jails, and on our streets. The resounding silence surrounding these illnesses remains persistent, and this book takes an unflinching look at the experience of mental illness and addiction that inspires profound connection, empathy, and action.
In this book, you’ll meet people of all ages, backgrounds, and futures, across politics and government, Hollywood and the arts, tech and business, sports and science—some recovering, some relapsing, some just barely holding on, but all sharing experiences and insights we need to better understand. You’ll also meet those trying to help them through—parents, siblings, spouses, therapists, bosses, doctors, and friends who create the extended families needed to support care and wellness.
The personal stories they share with Kennedy and Fried are intimate, sometimes shocking, always revealing. And they are essential reading for caregivers, family members, policymakers, and the general public—just as they are for those who often feel alone in experiencing these challenges themselves.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    April 30, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593828076
      • File size: 287950 KB
      • Duration: 09:59:53

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from March 4, 2024
      Former congressman Kennedy and journalist Fried (coauthors, A Common Struggle) deliver a heartrending portrait of mental illness and substance abuse disorder in America. Among the 12 individuals spotlighted, actor Gabrielle Anwar recalls life as a “Bipolar Mom” whose “stormy moods and addictions” impacted her children’s upbringing before she began regular therapy and psychiatric medications. As a severely depressed UPenn undergrad, Henry Platt had made progress dealing with his depression by his junior year, when the head of the school’s counseling center died by suicide, bringing into painfully ironic relief the depth of the mental health crisis on college campuses. Elsewhere, a wrenching profile chronicles healthcare aide Ashley Dunlop’s cycles through periods of sobriety and drug relapses. Her frustrating odyssey to find proper treatment highlights the challenges Americans face from a poorly funded healthcare system that often fails to take mental illness and substance disorders seriously. With fine-grained attention to detail, the authors draw out the personal and social challenges of these illnesses without sensationalizing them. In the process, they fulfill their mission to improve visibility for those struggling to get help, and take a step toward rectifying the widespread lack of understanding about mental illnesses and substance disorders, which they argue is “as big an epidemic as the diseases themselves.” It’s a revealing window into an important and timely issue.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      After JFK's nephew, Patrick, delivers the prologue, Johnny Heller's moving performance of this excellent audiobook shows why he's regarded as one of today's top narrators. His varied pacing and subtle voicings and volume modulations make for good listening in themselves. Furthermore, they're never out of sync with the shifting moods and overall poignant content offered by the articulate congressman and his cowriter. The authors recount the stories of 12 prominent people with psychiatric disorders as they struggled to manage their symptoms, seek help, and integrate their conditions with their work and personal relationships. These unflinching reports of how they handled their emotional pain and out-of-control behavior will speak to the heart and broaden awareness of the unseen challenges of managing mental health disorders. T.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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