Title: Poets on Prozac: Mental Illness, Treatment, and the Creative Process
Author: Berlin, Richard M.
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press (2008)
ISBN: 0801888395
181 pgs.
Notes: Berlin’s book gives voice to poets who have battled a variety of psychiatric disorders, and, in turn, dismisses the idea that madness fuels creativity. The 16 essays address questions surrounding emotional distress as inspiration, the relationship between substance abuse and aesthetics, and the effect of treatment on the creative process.

Title: Each One Teach One: Up and Out of Poverty, Memoirs of a Street Activist
Author: Casanova, Ron
Publisher: Curbstone Press (1996)
ISBN: 1880684373
250 pgs.
Notes: In <I> Each One Teach One, Ron Casanova chronicles his struggles out of poverty, homelessness, and drug addiction. Casanova, who was placed in a Staten Island orphanage at an early age, details his journey of overcoming the odds and finding purpose in his life. Ultimately, Casanova finds his answer in helping others discover the possibility of self-empowerment and self-sufficiency.

Title: The Pursuit of Happyness
Author: Gardner, Chris
Publisher: Amistad Press (2006)
ISBN: 0060744871
320 pgs.
Notes: Based on a true story, <I>The Pursuit of Happyness follows Chris Gardner as his life spirals out of control. Living on the streets with his 5-year-old son, Gardner works as an unpaid intern at a prestigious stock brokerage firm. Against all odds, Gardner rises to the top and becomes a millionaire.

Title: Love You to Bits and Pieces: Life With David Helfgott
Author: Helfgott, Gillian
Publisher: Penguin Books (1997)
ISBN: 0140266445
352 pgs.
Notes: David Helfgott’s wife Gillian penned this book about the extraordinary story of their lives since their meeting in 1983. <I>Love You to Bits and Pieces also includes David’s own account and analysis of his life prior to meeting Gillian. The book covers his life as a child prodigy, his decline into a tormenting mental breakdown, and his triumphant recovery.

Title: Indiscriminate Attraction
Author: Hudson-Smith, Linda
Publisher: Kimani Press (2008)
ISBN: 0373860668
248 pgs.
Notes: In order to find the twin brother that turned his back on him and set out to live life on the streets, Chad Kingston disguises himself as a homeless man and travels from shelter to shelter in Los Angeles. Linda Hudson-Smith, an author born and raised in Pennsylvania, weaves together a tale of brotherhood, homelessness, and eventual romance, as Chad meets Laylah Versailles.

Title: Love Tornado
Author: John, Mable and David Ritz
Publisher: Broadway Books (2008)
ISBN: 0767921674
245 pgs.
Notes: When J Love, a 15-year-old rapper, loses his mother in a tragic bus accident, Pastor Albertina Merci is named his legal guardian. Merci, a former blues singer-turned-minister, draws on her faith in order to help J Love return to his original dream of gospel rap after he is seduced into the world of gangsta rap.

Title: Divine Madness: Ten Stories of Creative Struggle
Author: Kottler, Jeffrey A.
Publisher: Jossey-Bass (2006)
ISBN: 0787994138
311 pgs.
Notes: New York Times-bestselling author Jeffrey A. Kottler explores why certain individuals overcome mental illness to produce works of art that are often enhanced by their emotional and mental anguish. Highlighting how they struggled to overcome their difficulties, Kottler explores the lives of Sylvia Plath, Judy Garland, Mark Rothko, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Marilyn Monroe, and Brian Wilson.

Title: Neighborhood Recovery: Reinvestment Policy for the New Hometown
Author: Kromer, John
Publisher: Rutgers University Press (2000)
ISBN: 0813527171
Notes: <I>Neighborhood Recovery studies neighborhood investment strategies in Philadelphia during Edward G. Rendell’s two terms as mayor (1992-2000). Kromer, who was Rendell’s director of housing, addresses topics like home ownership and financing, community-based organizations, job training, housing for the homeless and those with specialized needs, and the importance of advocacy.

Title: The Van Gogh Blues: The Creative Person's Path Through Depression
Author: Maisel, Eric
Publisher: New World Library (2007)
ISBN: 1577316045
257 pgs.
Notes: Maisel teaches creative people how to deal with recurring crises of meaning and how to manage the anxieties that are often linked to the creative process. The book combines examples of famed creators like van Gogh and Maisel’s creativity coaching practice. A step-by-step plan is presented to help creative people deal with their depression.

Title: Diagnosing Genius: The Life and Death of Beethoven
Author: Martin Mai, Frances
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press (2007)
ISBN: 0773531904
270 pgs.
Notes: Francois Martin Mai, an experienced physician and psychiatrist, explores the relationship between Beethoven’s extraordinary creativity and his struggle with deafness and depression. Mai studies letters to and from Beethoven, compares how his health complaints would have been treated during his time and ours, and examines the different medical, political, and social climates that contributed to how his problems would have been understood and treated. Mai also highlights how Beethoven’s illnesses enhanced his genius, and summarily suggests that other artists may have overcome similar hardships.