In any given year, one in four Americans suffers from a diagnosable mental illness—and yet there is still a significant stigma attached to being labeled as “mentally ill.” We hear about worst-case scenarios, but in many—maybe even most—cases, there is much room for hope. These frank, often intimate stories reflect the writers’ struggles to overcome—both as professionals and as individuals, as current therapists and as former patients—the challenges presented by depression, bipolar disorder, OCD, and other mental disorders. These dramatic narratives communicate clearly the rewards of helping patients move forward with their lives, often through a combination of medication, talk therapy, and common sense. Collectively, these true stories highlight the need for empathy and compassion between therapist and patient, and argue for a system that encourages human connection rather than diagnosis by checklist. Content: Introduction Peter D. Kramer Editor's Note Lee Gutkind Foreword Karen Wolk Feinstein Acknowledgments Playing Cards with Mr. Newman J. Timothy Damiani Hope Nurtures the Dream Ronald Bassman Inside Dan Tomasulo Paradise/Lost Jennifer Lunden What Would My Mother Say? Annita Sawyer The Dictator in My Head Kurt Warner In Minnesota Once: On Anorexia, Masculinity, and Recovery Owen Vince Jeannie Miriam Mandel Levi An American Boy Candy Schulman I’m Not a Noun Either Tom Mallouk Indistinguishable Chairs Cassie Eaton Salvaging Parts Olga-Maria Cruz Hitbodedut Catherine Klatzker Live a Little Ellen Holtzman Illusions of Wellness Katherine Sheppard Carrane Stalker George Drinka No Hope? Don't Believe It Sharron Hoy Came Down a Person Ella Wilson