The most recommended books about depression

Where Happiness Begins is a clever picture book that depicts happiness as a character that can take any shape and form. Sometimes it is hard to find. And sometimes it is right there with us. The illustrations are bright and beautiful. To me, we should read it frequently as a gentle reminder that happiness always begins within ourselves.

What would you do if you found yourself in a new relationship, pregnant, and with nowhere to turn?

Vikky Hall, the protagonist in this story, has chosen to cut herself off from the mother she feels couldn’t care less, and winds up living with her boyfriend’s family while raising their son. As a result of toxic relationships and manipulation which bring on depression and self-doubt, Vikky sees no way out. She leaves their home—and her toddler son—behind.

This is a magnificently crafted novel exploring relationships between parents and children, the insecurity and guilt that can often come with motherhood, found family, forgiveness, and new beginnings. I loved it for its realness in addressing hard topics and emotions, and most strikingly, for its heart.

The orphan girl Pollyanna moves in with her strict aunt in New England. Despite a difficult start, Pollyanna's exuberance and positivity affect everyone who meets her, and she spreads joy and love wherever she goes. I loved Pollyanna when I read it as a young girl and patterned my life after her positive thinking. Pollyanna, like myself, often finds her optimistic attitude tested, but she always learns to find happiness in every situation.

Have you ever been lost for words? You know what you want to say but it sounds silly when you say it out loud? That was me when my mum died. I was burning with grief and couldn’t find a way out.

And then a friend told me about Donna and her poems. Her book, Loss, sang to me as I cried myself to sleep, and her new book, Wild Hope, gives me daily inspiration. It literally creates magic.

Let the book open to a random page and I guarantee it will give you the boost you need to keep going, step by step, moment by moment, ever hopeful. 

This novel has everything in it that I love about Cornwall – the life and work of its artists, an incredible sense of the scenery and atmosphere, and the limpid light cast over its beauty. 

It’s also an absorbing story about the price that may have to be paid for following your star. Successful artist Rachel Kelly values creativity and self-expression, but all too often she places these above the happiness of her partner and children. Is she right or is she wrong? 

This book is a beautiful, inspiring weaving tale of a psychiatrist who has recurrent depression and has worked with people with depression. She doesn’t disguise how hard depression is, she doesn’t patronise, she explains depression from her personal point of view, explores what happened in her childhood, and explains a clinician’s point of view of depression. 

It’s embedded with bucket loads of empathy, compassion, and hope. You hear about the patients she’s helped and you come out feeling humbled and grateful for her telling her story. Very useful for professionals working in psychiatry and mental health but equally useful for those of us with this terrible illness.

Shame is the major factor in all depression, and when I substituted “shame” every time Real used the word “depression,” I realized I had found the definitive work on how shame operates on men. I have all my male clients read it, and it has changed many lives.

The book reads in many ways like a novel. Real frames the book with stories about his father: It starts with descriptions of how depressed his father was and how difficult it was to connect with him in his depression and isolation. And it ends with Real finally getting his father (and himself) to acknowledge the love between them.  

The title and cover of this brilliant picture book called out to me as soon as I saw it, and I was pleased to discover that the rest of the book lived up to my high expectations.

The main character is wonderfully, comically expressive, and, despite the sparse text, experiences a range of emotions; guilt, remorse, frustration, desperation, despair.

Despite its abundance of humour, this book touches on several themes, including friendship and the notion of belonging, and the importance of impulse control. And, like all of my favourite picture books, it ends with a delicious twist. 

This is exactly the type of book I recommend for mature Christian teens and young adults because it shows a lovable and completely realistic main character navigating the ups and downs, heartaches, and joys of life.

The main character, Emery, faces loss and hurt, stage fright and uncertainty, and along the way, learns to let God map her life.

This is book two in the series, but in the first book Emery dealt with some huge issues, helping a loved one cope with depression and all the heartache that goes with it.

This is an amazing sequel that has me rooting for the trilogy’s upcoming finale. You’ll laugh and cry as Emery’s story builds. Hooray for happy endings!

Happiness is a Choice is a faith-based, definitive work that defines and helps people deal with the troubling elements of depression. Drawing from their professional training and counseling experience Minirth & Meier provide a thorough analysis of the factors that contribute to depression and offer solutions to cure it.

This book will deal with the vital connection between spiritual life and psychological health and establish basic steps that can be taken to recover from depression and maintain a happy, healthy, and fulfilling existence.