My First Book Review: The BPD Survival Guide by Chapman, Gratz

As a BPD sufferer, I know it can be daunting to find accurate information on this disorder. The internet and mass media are ripe with misinformation and stigma. Even some very well known books (such as Stop Walking on Eggshells) paint a very negative, and I feel damaging, portrait of what it means to live with Borderline Personality Disorder. I feel it is paramount to anyone's recovery to find accurate and compassionate information on their illness, regardless of diagnosis, be it BPD or breast cancer.

And with such a belief, I began my search for some books that provided just that.

I spent quite a while online looking up various texts and the reader's comments on them, and have selected 3 so far that I felt would be good places to start. I will be reading them all over the course of this month and providing my take and insights into each of them, as well as what I found to be useful, and what I think wasn't so useful.

The first book I read was The Borderline Personality Survival Guide by Chapman & Gratz.

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was just what it says, a guide to BPD. I found it full of accurate, useful information about what the disorder is (and isn't), detailed descriptions of symptoms and short accounts, course of the illness itself, and treatment options and resources. All of this is presented in clear, easy to understand language with compassion and even a little humor. I read this book in two days and have dog-eared, highlighted, and flagged it to death already. I would recommend this to anyone with BPD themselves or a BPD loved one.

However, I would recommend skipping to the second half of the book if you are looking for treatment options, tips and resources, as the first half of the book is dedicated to explaining BPD itself. Some may find this a tad tedious, especially if you're rather well informed about BPD, but for those just starting out and seeking to understand, it is valuable information to have on hand.

My diagnosis: A must have reference for those living with BPD and their loved ones.