Suffering from a psychological or psychiatric disorder can be a distressing and bewildering experience. From psychological trauma, to depression, to impairments of cognitive processing and psychosomatic illness, the dysfunction of our ways of thinking or neurochemistry can be extremely disruptive. It too, however, can tell us much about the function of the brain – ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’ – while congenital conditions like autism cause us to question what it really means to be ‘normal’. Steve Silberman, author of the prizewinning book Neurotribes – explored this idea of ‘neurodiversity’, in his interview with us on the subject of autism.
-
1
Nerdy, Shy, and Socially Inappropriate: A User Guide to an Asperger Life
by Cynthia Kim -
2
The Real Experts: Readings for Parents of Autistic Children
by Michelle Sutton (editor) -
3
Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism
by Barry Prizant and Tom Fields-Meyer -
4
Autism Adulthood: Strategies and Insights for a Fulfilling Life
by Susan Senator -
5
The Eagle Tree
by Ned Hayes
Steve Silberman recommends the best New Books on Autism
Steve Silberman recommends the best New Books on Autism
Writing about autism has undergone an important shift, finally giving a voice to people with autism, says Steve Silberman, the winner of the 2015 Baillie Gifford Prize for his book tracing the history of autism, NeuroTribes. He picks the best new books on autism.
-
1
Studies in Hysteria
by Josef Breuer & Sigmund Freud -
2
Medical Muses: Hysteria in Nineteenth-Century Paris
by Asti Hustvedt -
3
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
by Oliver Sacks -
4
Into the Silent Land: Travels in Neuropsychology
by Paul Broks -
5
The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves
by Stephen Grosz
The best books on Psychosomatic Illness, recommended by Suzanne O'Sullivan
The best books on Psychosomatic Illness, recommended by Suzanne O'Sullivan
We still understand very little about the workings of the brain, and yet we dismiss the tricks it can play on us as undeserving of the same sympathy as physical illness. Neurologist and author Suzanne O’Sullivan recommends the best books on psychosomatic illness.
-
1
Following Ezra
by Tom Fields-Meyer -
2
Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and How to Think Smarter About People Who Think Differently
by Steve Silberman -
3
Seven Keys to Unlock Autism
by Elaine Hall -
4
Understanding Autism for Dummies
by Stephen Shore and Linda Rastelli -
5
Asperger's from the Inside Out
by Michael John Carley