Six Autobiographies and Two Realistic Fiction Books as Tools to Engage Students in Neurobiology of Disease: A Guide for Instructors

In this review, we discuss seven books, which we have utilized as compliments to textbooks in a Neurobiology of Disease course. These books describe neurological and psychiatric disorders from the viewpoint of the patient and include both fiction and nonfiction. We incorporate these texts in our course to engage a wide variety of students. For neuroscience and psychology students, these texts provide a more humanized view of the disease or disorder and a context for descriptions of symptoms or treatments. For students who take the course to fulfill a general education requirement, these texts are meant to make complex issues in science feel more accessible and relatable. Additionally, class discussion of these books facilitates the de-stigmatization of mental health issues. Here we present reviews of various books we have used in this approach and describe the educational value of each. We highlight the reasons why each book was chosen and identify particularly relevant or challenging sections of each book. We also offer points of consideration to aid educators in evaluating whether a book is appropriate for use in their own classrooms.