A review by drjagrier
(Don't) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation About Mental Health by Kelly Jensen

5.0

This collection of essays is a great read for people interested in glimpsing many sides to mental illness and disability. The 33 essays provide a range of tone and voice, as well as place on each person's life journey. This broad perspective is highly valuable, and rare to see. It will be of particular use to young adults, but is appropriate for anyone looking to building their understanding and compassion for those with mental disability. As a reader with many of the disorders presented in this book, it was both refreshing and validating to see deeply truthful portrayals. No anthology is perfect, and I found two of these stories to be complete misses; but I'm not dinging the rating for those because only 2 out of 33 is pretty amazing. Of note, I have the Kindle version, and some of the graphics and art were very hard to read. But neither are they necessary to get the boost from this collection. Only other gripe is that the biographies show that many of these writers are quite successful in the traditional sense - would love to see more essays from people who are not, and who still uplift and validate the value of all humans disabled and otherwise.