Saving Our Last Nerve: The African American Woman's Path to Mental Health

In our society, mental instability is looked at as taboo; something to hide behind and definitely not to address with your family and friends, much less seeing a therapist. It is because of these views that many women don't get the guidance and/or support they need when faced with the frailties of the human psyche. In an entertaining, yet informative approach, Dr. Marilyn Martin gives us SAVING OUR LAST NERVE: THE AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN'S PATH TO MENTAL HEALTH.Combined with exercises, diagrams, case studies, and statistics, SAVING OUR LAST NERVE is a wonderful resource! It helps us to realize that there are numerous resources out there that can help improve our emotional lives. In addition, it shows how to remove and minimize stress in your life in order to live more peacefully. Not only did I like Dr. Martin's teachings, I also enjoyed that she opened each chapter with an African Proverb. This book will definitely come in handy for all those who have ever told someone... "you're working my last nerve" and even for those who want to know how to keep from getting to that point.Reviewed by Tee C. Royalof The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

This is an extremely helpful book in understanding mental health issues and appropriate treatment resources for Black women. Anyone who is a Black woman, works with or has relationships with Black women, or wishes to better understand the psyches of Black women will find this book illuminating.Dr. Martin's language is simple (a compliment) and straightforward and her case illustrations easily remind us of ourselves or women we have known. She is direct yet gentle in describing the resistances of Black women to treatment, the need for treatment, and how to best use treatment (even if the mental health professional is not Black--only 2% of all psychiatrists inthis country are Black), p124Dr. Martin brings to this book an optimism that life can be better, that "saving that last nerve, requires struggle by both spirit and mind. Simplifying that journey is what this book is all about." (p1) And she accomplishes this goal with simple but accurate descriptions of mental disorders and the internal stresses thus imposed on external stresses.However, Dr. Martin has a holistic approach to Black women, recognizing not only the stresses and strengths in terms of emotional functioning, but also in terms of physical well-being and enhancing physical well-being).This book fills an important void in presenting mental health information about Black women and can easily be utilized for both personal and professional purposes. A very special bonus in this book are the lists of books (fiction as well as non-fiction) and movies assembled by Dr. Martin.