UC San Diego

Struggle and Solidarity: Seven Stories of How Americans Fought for Their Mental Health Through Federal Legislation, edited by Michael T. Compton, M.D., M.P.H. and Marc W. Manseau, M.D., M.P.H., is a remarkable journey of societal challenges, the individuals and legislation that rose to meet them, and the flood of downstream effects on the mental health and lives of all those who live in the United States. This publication is highly recommended for those who aim to learn about the historic forces that have shaped health in this country and their continued effects today, as the editors focus on seven stories with themes that ring true for all of us—food, employment, economic security, clean air and climate change, racial and gender equity, education, and housing. In doing so, readers, whether clinician or policymaker, are provided an exceptional display of the relationship between health outcomes, the social determinants of health, and the political and policy decisions that undergird them.