Thanks to everybody so far who has have taken the time to comment. You’ve given me not only titles but points to ponder.
In no particular order:
“The word holistic is off putting to some. I would do something different. I will think about it.”
“WELLER THAN WELL: A Son’s Victory Over Schizophrenia Diagnosis”
“The word schizophrenia in the title has helped my book to reach the people who have an interest in mental health, which is the group Rossa wants to reach. However, I have been reliably informed that it puts other people, who might normally read memoirs, off reading mine. I have tried the book with a different title though and it hardly sold at all – people just didn’t need know it was out there. Hopefully, Rossa’s publishers will help with marketing the book so that might be different for her. Personally, I might drop the word ‘Holistic’ from the title, only because it makes it a bit long and more complicated-sounding.”
“Holistic Recovery from the Divided Self (which is what R. D. Laing called Schizophrenia)”
“I like your working title, Rossa, because it so descriptive of what the book is about. I would have snapped this up for sure had I seen it 10 years ago and was desperate for hope. I think it’s good to have the word “schizophrenia” in the title, even though I don’t believe in the validity of the diagnosis. People who are just being thrown by that diagnosis are not going to relate to phrases like “extreme distress.” On the other hand, maybe there’s a catchy way to distill what the book’s about. Like Susanna Cahalan’s book title. She had anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, but it would be a mistake to put THAT in a book title. ha ha. Her book is titled:
Brain On Fire: My Month of Madness. That title really grabs you, it’s really descriptive of what the story is about, and it WAS a NY Times bestseller.”
“I think both the words Holistic and the word Schizophrenia might limit your market in terms of sales. My understanding of your story is that it is a quest for knowledge, wisdom, shared humanity, connection and love. It’s about freedom, it’s about society, it’s about systems, and it’s ultimately about life and who and how we want to be in the world. While the backdrop is holistic recovery from schizophrenia, the themes are much bigger, and have more mass appeal. Somehow, I think a title that speaks more to the lessons learned rather then the “backdrop” might be best, though off hand I can’t come up with anything…”
“I think the identifiers of words like schizophrenia or holistic work better as the subtitle, with a more broad title that speaks to the lessons learned.”