Paperback. Black cover with white title.

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Five Life Stories from Individuals Who Share Experience of Mental Illness and Real Recovery : English edition  by David Lambert (Author), Chayley Dunn (Author), Annie Clode (Author), Tony Eagle (Author), & 1 more

All in all an exceptional book 

Review: I bought this book on the understanding that it was a collection of personal stories from people who had been helped by MIND, the mental health charity. I found all the life-stories compiled in this book interesting, and relating to each of them, I found something to reflect on personally . In this sense, the accounts were very well chosen, as opposed to sticking to the well-worn paths of discussing institutional oppression, which at times may be oppressing in itself when not given a balanced view. However, although I found all accounts engaging, I was a little confused at the nature of the connection between some authors and MIND, given what appeared to be the nature of the book. I think that this can be viewed as both a weakness and a strength. The weakness being a possible dilution of the narrative around mental illness, the strength being an illustration of how the contexts of peoples’ lives themselves can be a source of emotional distress. As the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ anti-stigma campaign slogan reads, ‘Every Family In The Land’, in direct reference to the statistic of 1 in 4 people suffering with mental health problems at one time in their lives.

I think that for every mental health professional, such accounts are important in order to increase awareness of the impacts, both positive and negative, of society and psychiatric services on mental health. It would be useful also for anyone to read this in order to increase general understanding about these issues. This is a compilation of life-stories from ordinary people, and although I believe this is useful for the reader and empowering for the authors, as a book.

NOTE: this is an original book from the library gathered by the famous Cambridge Don, computer scientist, food and wine connoisseur, Jack Arnold LANG. In 2008, Jack was one of the co-founders of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, alongside other members of the Department, and acted as the Foundation’s Chair. The project’s original goals were modest: to build and distribute low-cost computers for prospective applicants to our Computer Science degree. Initially the project was a “success disaster”, as Jack would say, as demand far outstripped the low-scale manufacturing plans. Ultimately the Raspberry Pi became the UK’s most successful computer with more than 60 million sold to date. Jack was drawn to the educational possibilities of the Raspberry Pi, its potential uses in emerging economies and the way it could support self-directed learning.