Happy June! As you may or may not know, May was Mental Health Awareness Month. This post is to encourage everyone to extend mental health awareness into a year-round exercise. For those of you who are already keenly aware of your mental health, or rather the struggles you’ve had with it, these stories are to give credence to the cliché but true phrase “you’re not alone”. For those unfamiliar with or “underinformed” about mental illness, these empathetic but honest reads can give you a foothold for talking about and thinking about mental illness and its effects. (Selected by Library Tech, Ella)
The beloved author of The Fault in Our Stars didn’t stop at chronicling the love between two tragic teens; he also takes on the widely misrepresented topic of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Aza Holmes is constantly spiraling through the same slew of intrusive thoughts in contrast to her witty and bubbly best friend Daisy who is presently focused intently on a strange happening in town: the disappearance of local billionaire Russel Pickett. With the incentive of a hefty reward, Daisy convinces Aza to get closer with the missing man’s son, Davis. Connected by a mutual isolation, the pair have some bizarre experiences together while trying to find the billionaire CEO, including a giant reptile encounter and a (literal) underground art show. What’s really unique about this book is how it describes the turbulent landscape of Aza’s mind in which we spend most of the book. This read will give you honest insight into a misunderstood yet extremely isolating condition that just hasn’t been represented this accurately before.
Mental illness in adolescents is a prevalent issue that is being talked about more and more thanks to increased awareness and better diagnostics. But what about the adolescents that are living with an adult with mental illness? Author Wai Chem takes a look at one such story. Anna Chiu is the oldest of her three siblings, a role made even more complicated due to her mother’s persistent and debilitating mental illness, most likely bipolar disorder. Anna has much to struggle with despite her mere 16 years: her own cultural identity and associated stereotypes as a Chinese immigrant in Australia, her parent’s insistence on a boyfriend-free existence, and her father’s all-consuming focus on the family restaurant. It is not often that one gets a clear rendering of how severe illness affects the family of the primary sufferer or an honest look at how the treatment of mental illness is not a straight line. The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling offers both. Also, don’t forget to read the author’s note on the unique phonetics of the book.
Bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression, anxiety, trichotillomania, misophonia, addiction, PTSD, body dysmorphia, anorexia, bulimia, anxiety, depression – this book contains non-fictional stories (and some poems) about all of these mental illnesses and more. Real people (like actress Kristen Bell, author V.E. Schwab, and Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan) talking about their real experiences with a variety of mental illnesses (and disorders, such as autism) relayed through their own eyes. While these writings are deeply personal, I guarantee anyone with a mental illness that you will see yourself, if a tiny piece or a whole slice, in these snapshots. Plus, there are awesome recommendations and reference material about mental-illness-related authors, movies, and books as well as some humorously put together lists and illustrations to break up the grim reality of these illnesses’ chronicity. A few of my favorite works of the 33 in this book are as follows: “I Hate to Interrupt This Conversation about Mental Illness but Guess What – I’m Autistic” by Mike Jung, “I’m Over Staying Silent About Depression” by Kristen Bell, and “Defining the Thing is the Trick” by Ashley Holstrom.
This read follows sisters June (uptight, older, abjectly successful and therefore wealthy) and Jayne (college-student-poor with iffy taste in men) as a cancer diagnosis brings them together in truly unexpected ways. These sisters seemingly hate each other as they reunite after over a year of ignoring each other despite living in the same city. Jayne seemingly hates herself as she navigates a serious eating disorder and love woes not to mention the prospect of seeing her Korean immigrant parents for the first time since she left for college. This book, like many memorable works, is character driven and these sisters are equal parts hilarious, venomous, treacherous, generous, and disastrous. Choi renders the struggle of comorbidity so accurately that it’s no surprise this book is a semi-memoir of her own struggles with binge eating disorder, anorexia and bulimia. I loved this book and recommend it highly but would think twice about reading it unless I was 17 or older!
