'An Unquiet Mind': A Mental Wellness Book Club Virtual Couch Talk

While spending more time at home in recent months, away from the usual routines and social contacts, you may have become curious about mental health symptoms—either in yourself or in others around you. You might enjoy reading one of the most relatable and authoritative books about living with mental illness, "An Unquiet Mind" by Kay Redfield Jamison.

Jamison, co-director of the Mood Disorders Center and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins Medicine, was to have been the keynote speaker at the University Senate's plenary which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In her book, Jamison describes mental illness from her professional perspectives—and her personal perspective as someone who suffers with bipolar disorder. The University Senate, in cooperation with the Mental Wellness Book Club, will host an online couch talk to discuss Jamison's book, "An Unquiet Mind" Wednesday, Aug. 12, at noon.

Details about the couch talk:

• The couch talk will be a Zoom discussion and will focus on 10 quotations from the book.
• When registering to participate, registrants will choose whether they want to present one of the quotes or whether they would prefer to participate without being responsible for presenting anything.
• The program leader will provide all registrants with instructions for accessing the e-book for free via the University Library System. Participants should not feel pressured to read the entire book.
• The program leader will provide a specific quote and range of page numbers to the 10 people who will present quotes.
• During the couch talk, all participants will be welcome to comment on the quotations.
• All faculty, staff and students at the University are welcome to participate in this event. Multiple sessions may be hosted, depending on the quantity and schedule preferences of registrants.

Register for the couch talk online. Contact Linda Tashbook, chair of the Mental Wellness Task Force, at //tashbook [at] pitt.edu">tashbook [at] pitt.edu with questions or for more information.