Our publisher, Rowman & Littlefield, sent advance copies of Overcoming OCD: A Journey to Recovery to some well-respected OCD researchers and health care providers. Here’s what they have to say about our book:
This book by Singer and Gillihan is a remarkable story of a mother and son’s inspiring chronicle against OCD. Singer’s story clearly conveys the pain of having a loved one struggle with OCD, yet inspires those in their fight by illustrating how this family triumphed. Beyond being compelling and inspiring, this text successfully educates the reader about the nature and treatment of OCD.
— Eric A. Storch, Ph.D., professor and All Children’s Hospital Guild Endowed Chair, University of South Florida; clinical director, Rogers Behavioral Health – Tampa Bay
Overcoming OCD: A Journey to Recovery is an inspiring story of a young man’s determination and courage to free himself from the limitations and terrors of his obsessive-compulsive disorder. Whether you suffer with the condition or whether you love someone who suffers with the condition, you will find something in this book that will encourage and enlighten.
— Michael A. Tompkins, Ph.D., San Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy; author of OCD: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed (2012)
Overcoming OCD offers something new to the “my true OCD story” library by highlighting the complexity of helping a family member with the disorder. Singer and Gillihan invite us into the world of an OCD family by seamlessly combining heartfelt memories with concrete clinical facts. The book reads like a true crime novel with the hero being a mother who will stop at nothing to help her son through a maze of mental illness and those who treat it, a theme that surely resonates with more families than we know.
— Jon Hershfield, MFT, psychotherapist and co-author of The Mindfulness Workbook for OCD: A Guide for Overcoming Obsessions and Compulsions with Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
This book is a remarkable achievement; it is a poignant and powerful memoir as well as a valuable resource for understanding and managing OCD.
— Paul M. Rosen, Ph.D., author of TLC: Talking Listening Connecting with Your Kids
I learned a lot from this important book, in which we read a mother’s first-person account of her anguish and eventual triumph as she attempts to navigate the confusing world of treatment options for a college-age son stricken with severe OCD. Her first-person account is beautifully balanced by the voice of Dr. Gillihan, an expert in OCD, who provides the reader with additional information on what treatments are available, which are backed by science, and what to expect when engaging in them.
There are few books in which we read so intimately of a parents’ struggle to care for a child with OCD. There are fewer still that detail this struggle when the child is actually a young adult, leaving the nest, and the parent must strike the right balance between providing structure and care while respecting a son’s growing need for independence. This book will benefit and educate those suffering from OCD, those who love them, and those who treat them in clinical settings.
— Katherine K. Dahlsgaard, Ph.D., Lead Psychologist, ABC: The Anxiety Behaviors Clinic, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Authors Janet Singer and Seth Gillihan’s contribution in Overcoming OCD: A Journey to Recovery will be both valuable and relatable to OCD suffers and family members. The personal story of Dan’s brave journey and alternating treatment information make this book inspiring and informative.
— Stacey Kuhl Wochner, LCSW, psychotherapist in private practice, Los Angeles (www.ocdspecialists.com)
Janet Singer and Seth Gillihan’s Overcoming OCD: A Journey to Recovery is a touching and valuable book. In its best moments, it captures a mother’s struggles to understand her son’s OCD and support him through a long and difficult journey, with grace and forthrightness. Through a series of clear and well-referenced sidebars, the book also provides concrete information about OCD and its treatment that is of great value. Every person with OCD experiences it differently, and Dan’s journey, as experienced by his mother, will resonate with some patients and their families more than with others. But the clarity and simple humanity of the story will be a great help to many individuals and many families who have been touched by OCD, and by mental illness more broadly, letting them know that others have experienced what they are going through, and have flourished.
— Christopher Pittenger, MD, Ph.D., director, Yale OCD Research Clinic
This is a touching and genuine account of a family and their experience with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The book is revealing and brings the reader through a range of emotions. It is well researched and provides an informative account of how one can recover from OCD with professional treatment and the support of family. I highly recommend this book to anyone coping with OCD.
— Jim Lemli, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist/Cognitive-Behavioral Therapist
Overcoming OCD is a moving account of one family’s experience with obsessive compulsive disorder. From the earliest signs of illness to triumphant recovery, Singer provides a mother’s perspective on the devastating impact of OCD and the inspiring nature of her son’s resilience and perseverence. Gillihan’s expert voice on the science and treatment of OCD adds richness and depth to this unflinching narrative. The personal and clinical perspectives on OCD are woven together to produce an intimate, informative and ultimately inspiring account of illness, love, and recovery.
— Matthew O. Hurford, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services
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