Jim Bailey is a Gulliver walking the nooks and crannies of a beach community simply trying to sell his books, do his research, and find a port where he can write the Next Great American Novel and Worldwide TV Series - only to meet the weird, the wacky, and the odd - person or situation which may or may not get him back in time to switch his car to the other side of the street before the cops tow away his sleeping quarters. And the Power of O.C.D. Cannot Be Denied: Jim Bailey's diary reveals A Don Quixote of a Writer-Against-All-Odds: An artist on foot, sleeping in his car, struggling to push his great work of written art up the steep hill of Competition, Access, and The Marketplace. Or: Tilting at sun worshipers, book-readers, the homeless, agents, or producers he meets on his daily rounds of beaches, coffee shops and the rear aisle of bookstores he sneaks into trying to sell his books. Great characters. A funny read. One minute Jim is meeting a famous actor in a Malibu bookstore and the next minute he's fighting off a psychotic street person. Undaunted he goes from one book store to another and will not leave unless he finds at least one customer to purchase his book. Along the way he meets Bob Dylan and Pierce Brosnan and many other celebrities that purchase his book. He ended up selling thousands of books, "One book at a time" and ended up with a movie option. If you like quirky and motivating stories, give this a go. Mel Brooks and Larry Hankin have blurbs on it!

"Let's begin to talk about our mental health and page by page, bit by bit, we will be okay" Drawing on her experience of living with OCD and her journey to recovery, this diary combines Charlotte's personal story with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy self-help activities. The book is packed full of journaling and sketching activities, and Charlotte's own designs and entries will give you a jumping off point to add your own sketches, doodles and photos to help you understand your OCD. It also has daily tasks adapted or expanded from CBT that help manage anxiety, avoidance, obsessions and compulsions. There are completed activities as examples throughout and Charlotte shares her own story of OCD throughout the book, to raise awareness and to remind you that you are not alone. Her relatable OCD struggles and victories will help you tackle OCD.

"There are galaxies within the human mind, and madness wants to risk everything for the daring flight, reckless and beautiful and crazed . . . ' Tristimaniais Jay Griffiths' story of a devastating year-long episode of manic depression. A profound exploration of a condition that is at once terrifying and also deeply creative, both tricking and treating the psyche, hers is a journey headlong into the heart of art and madness."

James Bailey's form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) was as bizarre as it was unbearable. He was obsessed by a fear of drugs and their effects, believing himself to be in constant danger of becoming insanely high through people spiking his food, or even by just touching a photograph of a marijuana leaf. The treatment programme he went through at a specialist American clinic was challenging, to say the least. He was asked to shake hands and mingle with the local junkies, fighting his anxieties and the urge to go and wash for as long as possible in order to 'expose' himself to his fears. It is a testimony to Bailey's indomitable spirit that he is now able to see the absurdity of many of the bizarre situations in which he found himself. He invites us to share the joke with him as he harasses fast-food waitresses over whether they've put any drugs in his food and chases joggers down the street to ask them if they think there's something strange about the way he is running. It is this quirky sense of humour combined with his strength of character that helped him to recover and go back out to face the world again. Man, Interrupted gives us a glimpse into the tortured world of a man suffering from what is an increasingly common disorder. But far from being a doom-laden account of mental illness, the result is uniquely revealing, hilariously entertaining and wonderfully rewarding.

It all began on Thursday, March 14th, 2019. Raj woke up with suicidal thoughts. His mind was racing with negativity, which consumed him completely. He could no longer bear the pain; he needed an escape. That day changed everything. Raj was admitted to a hospital and kept in a psychiatric ward on constant observation. His life had been plagued with mental health problems. As a teen, he was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder; this time however, felt different. He had obsessive thoughts he could not control. The book describes Raj's journey after his diagnosis and the mood swings he has. It describes how visits from healthcare professionals and family could trigger a swing in mood. It also tells the story of his childhood, growing up with anxiety and the impact it had.

The author of the acclaimed Welcome to My Country describes in this provocative and funny memoir the ups and downs of living on Prozac for ten years, and the strange adjustments she had to make to living "normal life." Today millions of people take Prozac, but Lauren Slater was one of the first. In this rich and beautifully written memoir, she describes what it's like to spend most of your life feeling crazy--and then to wake up one day and find yourself in the strange state of feeling well. And then to face the challenge of creating a whole new life. Once inhibited, Slater becomes spontaneous. Once terrified of maintaining a job, she accepts a teaching position and ultimately earns several degrees in psychology. Once lonely, she finds love with a man who adores her. Slater is wonderfully thoughtful and articulate about all of these changes, and also about the downside of taking Prozac: such matters as dependency, sexual dysfunction, and Prozac "poop-out." "The beauty of Lauren Slater's prose is shocking," said Newsday about Welcome to My Country, and Slater's remarkable gifts as a writer are present here in sentences that are like elegant darts, hitting at the center of the deepest human feelings. Prozac Diary is a wonderfully written report from inside a decade on Prozac, and an original writer's acute observations on the challenges of living modern life.