You Are Not Alone: Navigating Mental Illness and the Journey to Recovery

by Ken Duckworth

You Are Not Alone is a good book to look at if you or someone you love is struggling with their mental health. It’s by American psychiatrist Ken Duckworth, Chief Medical Officer of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). The book aims to be a practical guide, combining the latest evidence or advice from scientific research with examples of what some people are actually going through (starting with Duckworth’s own family experience). Mental illness is a big challenge and Duckworth is candid about the limitations of current knowledge. He writes, “We know that mental illnesses are real, and common, but they emerge from a brain with about 100 billion neurons (give or take a few billion) that we do not yet fully understand.” Chapters include “Do I Need Help?” or “Helping Your Child, Teen or Young Adult.” There’s also a section “Experts Answer the Most Frequently Asked Questions.”