Anatomy of an Epidemic, by Robert Whitaker

Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America

by Robert Whitaker
416 pages

With this book, Robert Whitaker sets out to answer a question that most Americans also find very puzzling: why has the number of disabled mentally ill tripled over the past two decades? Is it due to an increase in awareness, an increase in occurrence, or does it have to do with the medications we're prescribed to help combat the problems?

While the book does feel incredibly long at first, it does offer extremely helpful charts and labeled pictures to explain some of the more technical, medical jargon used. The book also has small sections devoted to families he has interviewed personally who have experience some of the problems associated with mental illness firsthand.