Is There Room for Me, Too? ― Twelve Steps & Twelve Strategies for Coping with Mental Illness

An emotional and practical guide to handling life with mental illness. Half of each chapter deals with the patient's new identity, using a modified Twelve-Step plan. Half is nuts and bolts: how to work with your doctor; how to navigate your way through uncaring bureaucracies; dealing with psychosis; surviving suicidal thoughts; recognizing your triggers; and more.

PRAISE FROM REVIEWERS:

"Four Stars out of five...Fruchey effectively adapts the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, applying them to the challenges of living with mental illness. Fruchey's sensitivity to differences in opinion and life situations will help make the book pertinent to a wide range of people. Although it targets mentally ill readers, this book will also benefit relatives and friends and help mental health professionals better understand their patients. Overall, it provides practicable, well-presented information."

- Foreword Clarion Review

"Guides the reader toward recovery by beginning with the most basic step - accepting that you have a mental illness - to the last step: finding your purpose in life beyond your mental illness. She provides helpful advice while including stories and quotations from people dealing with various issues. She collaborates with Dr. David Kallinger, whose PhD adds clinical expertise...together, they offer a therapeutic map to guide the reader toward a better quality of life."

- NAMI Advocate

PRAISE FROM EARLY READERS:

"Something that is so valuable, a compilation of personal experience, personal advice, and Twelve-Step guidance that offers real, effective ideas for dealing with the garbage that goes with mental illness... I LOVE this, I'm looking forward to having a copy of it, and these last three chapters I'm going to sit and read with my husband."
(Kathy D)

"Room For Me, Too, is bravely honest and heartfelt. I have read a lot of non-fiction and this is the first time I would call a book a true work of humanity. The interviews are the most complete and caring I have ever seen before. Even the religious parts were a huge breath of fresh air… None of us are without issues, and I can't think of anyone who wouldn't benefit greatly from this book. This book was intended for those with mental illnesses of various types, but I say it’s a must read for those who know anyone with such problems."
(Leslie D)

“I wish I had read this in my younger life!…This is so informational and entertaining to read – I feel like I have a guide through life’s difficulties when I read this.”
(Erika D)

Deborah Fruchey developed Bipolar Disorde in 1972. She was diagnosed 13 years later, and stabilized in 1993. She has spent over 15 years compiling the fruits of her own experience and that of others. Deborah's first novel, The Unwilling Heiress, was chosen in 1987 as one of the best books in its category by the American Booksellers Association. She has recently married and returned to college.
Dr. David Kallinger was first a counselor with he California Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. He gained his PhD from the Wright Institute in 1990 and began his clinical psychology practice in Berkeley and San Francisco. David also has a certificate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy from the Institute of Psychoanalytic Studies. Blind from an early age, he specializes in clients who are struggling with various disabilities.