As I tore through the pages of Abby Sher’s new book, Amen, Amen, Amen: Memoir of a Girl Who Couldn’t Stop Praying (Among Other Things), I felt like I was in the passenger’s seat accompanying her on the bumpy ride through her lifelong struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. An extended meditation filled with humor and grace, and anxieties, fears, joys and sorrows, Abby’s memoir brought me right to the center of her vulnerable humanity and my own. I now understood OCD in a whole new way—not as something foreign, but as an antidote to the uncertainty of existence that we all can relate to. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand OCD, or themselves, more intimately.

Ever since I found out that Howie Mandel has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, I’ve semi-obsessively watched “Deal Or No Deal” waiting to see how Howie reacts during those awkward moments when a contestant tries to hug him. Howie’s OCD is no joke—it’s seriously limited his life, and he’s writing a memoir about it called “Here’s the Deal: Don’t Touch Me.” In the book, he’ll reveal much more about his battle with the disease than the nuggets he’s given us so far: that he hasn’t shaken anyone’s hand since 2001, that he walks around his house with a face mask and gloves on, that he is so afraid of public restrooms that he can only use the bathroom at home, and that he shaves his head because it makes him feel cleaner. [Wikipedia]

I am completely and thoroughly fascinated with OCD, so you better believe that I will be picking up Howie’s memoir the day it comes out in November. And I’m also counting the minutes until VH1’s “OCD Project,” which will be like a “Real World” for OCD sufferers undergoing treatment. But since it’ll be a while until either of these comes out, here are some details about other famous OCD suffers to tide you over.

We’re all a little bit crazy. I know I am. After battling a bout of depression in my teens, going through therapy in my 20s, and ultimately becoming a happy, more well-adjusted person, I decided to get my masters in psychology. Why? Because people are endlessly fascinating and complex. So I get a little too excited watching shows like “Intervention,” “Obsessed,” and “Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew.” Sometimes my friends make fun of me, pointing out that I am the one who is “addicted” or “obsessed” with these shows. Laugh all you want, but I don’t watch because I get off on other people’s problems. I just think it’s important to have empathy for what other people are going through. I watch to be a better person, darn it. And that’s why I am so psyched that VH1 has created a new reality series that follows people who have obsessive-compulsive disorder.

I’ve thought for a very long time that I have some sort of O.C.D. because I can’t function during the day if my bed is unmade and can spot a dust bunny from 20 feet away. But then I heard about this site, i am neurotic, where people submit examples of their own wakcy neurosis, and realized I am totally pretty normal. But wow, do people have funny, interesting little things they have to do in order to remain sane during their every day lives, like:

“I cannot poop if my shirt is all the way on. I have to put one arm out of my sleeve, and put that side of my shirt on my shoulder. I also find it hard to poop with my shoes on, and will take them off if I’m at home. If I’m out and about I will suffer through the shoe thing, but not the shirt.”