Books like Obsessed

A raw, claustrophobic, yet deeply hopeful descent into the sudden onset of severe OCD and the grueling, courageous climb back out. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with Obsessed.

claustrophobic
anxious
intense
hopeful

01
Every last word
Tamara Ireland Stone
An intimate, poetry-infused exploration of the exhausting performance of normalcy and the quiet salvation of finding your people.
Shares:
- anxious
- hopeful
- earnest
- vulnerable
02
The boy who couldn't stop washing
Judith L. Rapoport · 1989
A compassionate and eye-opening journey into the hidden, agonizing world of obsessive-compulsive disorder and the dawn of its modern treatment.
Shares:
- hopeful
- earnest
03
Wasted
Marya Hornbacher · 1998
A visceral, unflinching descent into the claustrophobic grip of an eating disorder and the brutal fight to survive it.
Shares:
- claustrophobic
- urgent
04
Get Out of My Head
Meredith Arthur
A soothing balm for the racing mind, offering gentle inspiration to navigate an anxious world.
Feels:
- calming
- reassuring
- grounding
05
Am I normal yet?
Holly Bourne
A fiercely funny, deeply empathetic exploration of mental health, feminist awakenings, and the life-saving power of cheesy snacks and true friends.
Shares:
- anxious
- hopeful
- earnest
- vulnerable
06
An unquiet mind
Kay Redfield Jamison · 1995
A fiercely articulate descent into the terrifying highs and crushing lows of a brilliant, fractured mind.
Shares:
- hopeful
- earnest
- vulnerable
- candid
07
A Mind That Found Itself
Clifford Whittingham Beers · 1908
A lucid, harrowing dispatch from the depths of early twentieth-century psychiatric confinement that transforms personal suffering into a rallying cry for reform.
Shares:
- claustrophobic
- hopeful
- earnest
- urgent
08
It's Kind of a Funny Story
Ned Vizzini
A candid, surprisingly funny exploration of teenage depression and the unexpected moments of light found within a psychiatric hospital.
Shares:
- hopeful
- earnest
- candid
09
Cut
Patricia McCormick
A quiet, deeply internal exploration of pain and the fragile, halting steps toward finding the words to heal.
Shares:
- claustrophobic
10
Overcoming unwanted intrusive thoughts
Sally Winston
A compassionate, deeply relieving lifeline that dismantles the shame of a noisy, frightening mind.
Shares:
- hopeful
11
Girl, interrupted
Susanna Kaysen
A razor-sharp, fragmented descent into the parallel universe of a 1960s psychiatric ward that questions the very nature of sanity.
Shares:
- claustrophobic
12
Furiously Happy
Jenny Lawson
A wildly tangential, laugh-out-loud manifesto on fighting crippling depression with weaponized absurdity.
Shares:
- vulnerable

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