Let's not forget The Yellow Wallpaper

How can you forget Charlotte Perkins Gilman's fabulous story, "The Yellow Wallpaper"? A classic.

http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=1447453

Thanks for the comments! I didn't include The Yellow Wallpaper in the list because it is a short story (not novel-length) and more fictional than the other titles I listed (based on Gilman's life, but not a direct memoir). There are so many great choices, it was hard to pick!

Thanks again!

kingston, the woman warrior

Great idea for a list, thanks!

Thanks for commenting, Benjamin. I debated about adding the Women Warrior before I published this list, but I read it so long ago (in college), that I forgot how much of the novel was focused on mental illness. Now I see that I should include it, Thanks!

Also, Thanks Jill! :)

Why not _A Healing_ by Gayle Jones or even _Possessing the Secret of Joy_ by Alice Walker?

Let's not perpetuate the myth of female hysteria. How about a list of books concerning men and mental illness?

and the last comment is a good idea for a follow up.

@Bettina Thanks! I'll check those books out.

@Liz The list is female-only because I am personally fascinated by women's experiences of "illness" (as well as the societal perception of such women within their cultural context).
No hysteria intended!

@Ursula Thanks! I haven't read too many male ones but I love, love, love "Songs from The Black Chair" by Charles Barber

I write a blog on radical mental health, and this list is incredibly helpful. Thank you!

Thanks for the info! Are any of these books comprised of short stories about the struggles of mental illness and individuals that have experienced recovery? If not, do you have any recomendations of books/resources like this?