Same Time Next Week is a look at the mental health system as experienced by both patient and provider. Each of the 18 vignettes is a personal account of the individuals journey with mental illness from diagnosis to treatment to aftercar. As a licensed clinical social worker I'm fascinated by the impact mental illness has on an individual's ability to function in society as a whole and n their own lives. These stories take away some of the stigma inherent in a diagnosis of mental illness and allows the reader to see the individuals struggle and at times succeed with their mental health issues. ( )

As someone currently studying to go into a mental health profession, I was so excited to have been chosen to receive this book, and it did not disappoint! It contains a great assortment of memoir style essays from people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness and their journey to learning coping mechanisms and finding recovery. Many of the patients are also mental helth professionals themselves which makes for some definitely fascinating insights! I definitely recommend this book! ( )

I received this book as a Library Thing Early Reviewer. I chose to request this book because I work in a setting where some of my residents have mental illnesses. I was hoping to find some insight into their minds and maybe how to interact with and understand them better. I did find many of the essays informative and helpful. A good resource for anyone wanting to get an inside look at real people and the issues they deal with. ( )

A unique book that takes the reader on a personal journey through the eyes of various authors. The book has stories that are written from the heart, that are both brutal in the beginning, but hopeful in the ending. Each story is set up in a way that various types of mental illness are shared. Authors share their rough road with bipolar disorder, anorexia, depression, addiction, severe abuse, etc. No story is alike and that is what makes this book so special. It is a real blessing in disguise and a powerful tool to use as a parent and a caregiver to a child with a mental illness. It is not very often that I see books that have authors come together like this and remind readers that there are positive outcomes, when all there seems like is darkness. As a parent I sometimes feel helpless and worry about my child’s future. It is not necessarily the present that bothers me, but the future when she becomes an adult and is out of my home. This book gave me a great deal of encouragement and reminded me that we as a family have much to look forward to. Bipolar disorder will not control my daughter if we teach her too control it. I am so grateful that the authors of this book took the time to come together to create it. I want them to know that it makes a difference for parents such as myself that are struggling every day with a special needs child. To those other parents that are looking for something a little different and need a good pick me up, I strongly recommend this book. I also recommend this book for my special need families as well. We have to support one another or we just won’t make it. Hang in there everyone, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. ( )

I took notes & highlighted my way through this book, as I like to do with most books on the subject of mental illness, so I can go back and reflect on what aspects of the book really speak to me. In doing so I came across one particular sentence which really did speak to me since I often experience racing thoughts due to my diagnosis with Bipolar II. In the story The Dictator In My Head, a sort of memoir by social worker Kurt Warner who struggles with OCD, Kurt writes early on "...the only true escape from the dictator is in sleep." That is how I often feel about my own mental illness, especially when depressed.

Some writing styles were a little harder to engage with as a reader, but as someone who struggles with mental illness, I was able to relate to the stories as a whole. Salvaging Parts by Olga-Maria Cruz and Illusions of Wellness by Katherine Sheppard Carrane were both examples of engaging and relatable writing.

This book is definitely recommended reading for those living with mental illness, those treating mental illness and those who just want a better understanding of mental illness. ( )