I received an advanced reader copy of this book compliments of NetGalley in exchange of my review. The concept of the book "The Inherited Mind: A Story of Family, Hope, and the Genetics of Mental Illness" is interesting as James Longman is trying to find if there is a genetic component to mental illness. The book looks at his father's struggle with schizophrenia and the author's struggle to learn about who his father was, and if his family's mental illness history is genetic. This is the sort of nature versus nature argument to mental illness.

However, this book read more like a book report where the author was citing other references to his research. At times he tries to fill in the narrative with notes from his father's doctors and former friends. I enjoyed learning about the upcoming genetic research components that are becoming available to research mental illnesses and the genetics involved. But I felt like the story at times veered off on tangents of the authors life ( i.e. it went off on a biography tangent) then what the initial concept was about.

I appreciated James Longman sharing his story with the reader, it had that overall concept that I was hoping for. It does a great job in sharing mental health and how it can affect your journey. I was engaged with what was happening and thought everything was written well and glad it was a journey.

Fascinating read by an author who is so close to the subject matter that it is of life-altering importance that he gets it right. Love that the book includes information on depression, bipolar, and schizophrenia and the heritability of these diseases. Love even more the hope the author imbues for others who travel what can be a sometimes devastatingly difficult, lonely road.

The Inherited Mind by James Longman is a deeply personal and well-reported look into the science of mental illness. Longman pulls no punches in detailing the tragic impact of mental illness in his family. He laces that with explanations of the science of mental illness that is highly understandable and accessible for the lay person. No PhD required to get a feel for genomics or other scientific principles that guide the study of mental illness. The deeply personal nature of Longman's make this a book that is hard to put down. It's one of the most accessible looks at the science of mental illness that I've ever read. Thank you to #netgalley and #hyperionavenue for the opportunity to preview #theinheritedmind