The following article was submitted by Lisa Pike from the Manitowoc Public Library
May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, a month dedicated to helping end the stigma of mental illness and promote resources for those in need of help. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one in five U.S. adults experience mental illness each year and one in six U.S. youth experience a mental health condition each year—and only about half of each age group will receive treatment. Part of the reason treatment is so limited is that 55% of U.S. counties do not have a single practicing psychiatrist. This is where books and libraries can try to bridge the gap.
Books are powerful medicine for the mind through relieving stress, alleviating loneliness, and allowing readers to develop empathy. Fiction and nonfiction titles that relay their stories through the lens of a person with mental illness are beneficial to those who have mental illness and those who do not.
For people who have a mental illness, these books provide much-needed representation and can defeat feelings of isolation through connecting with another’s experiences. For those without a mental illness, these books provide a better understanding of what it’s like to live with one. This is especially important for those with a family member, friend, or other loved one who lives with mental illness. Reading books in which the characters manage mental illness helps to inform and create empathy, which in turn battles insensitivity and misunderstanding.
Libraries help this process by providing a variety of fiction and nonfiction for a variety of audiences. Our hope at Manitowoc Public Library is that someone who is seeking help for themselves, or a friend, or a loved one will pick up one of these books. The help people may receive from these titles can come in many forms. A book may be helpful to someone by allowing them to identify with a character and feel less isolated in their struggles. It may also provide resources to connect with a therapist. A book could even give advice on the best way to start a conversation with someone concerning mental health.
The following are a few titles that we offer at Manitowoc Public Library, that excel in their approach to placing the topic of mental illness into the conversation:
“Maybe You Should Talk to Someone,” by Lori Gottlieb
A therapist finds herself on the therapy couch after a major shift in her life. As she begins exploring her own problems, she finds connections with her patients that she never saw before and how they are dealing with similar struggles. Gottlieb uses humor to explore her topic with candor and provides a window into her personal struggles and triumphs. Her book is a witty discussion of the human condition and all the imperfections that go with it and how best to accept them. Recommended for adults.
“Life Inside My Mind: 31 Authors Share Their Personal Struggles,” by Jessica Burkhart, et.al.
According to NAMI, about 50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24. With that in mind, age-appropriate titles discussing mental illness, in a constructive manner, are important for both parents and young adults.
This essay anthology collects thirty-one authors writing about their own or a loved one’s mental illness and its impact on their lives. The essays range in topic from dealing with depression, anxiety, and OCD to addiction, PTSD, and bipolar disorder. They discuss the evolution of their illness and treatment programs, and how they find solace in medication and therapy regimes, exercise, and mindfulness. All contributors are against the stigmatization of mental illness and discuss the benefits of seeking professional help. Recommended ages 14-18.
“Some Kind of Happiness,” by Claire Legrand
Finley Hart is dreading her upcoming summer vacation. Her parents are sending her off to live with family she’s never met while they work through some relationship troubles. On top of this, Finley finds that she is having more blue days than before and struggles to get out of bed each day. The only way she holds back her depression is through writing in her notebook. She escapes all her fears and worries by imagining herself in the forest kingdom of Everwood. Upon arriving at her summer home, she finds a mysterious forest nearby, which she begins to explore with the help of her cousins and new friends. Soon, without realizing it, her fantasy and real worlds begin to collide, with Finley having to confront her greatest fear to save herself and her family. Recommended ages 9-12.
“When Sadness is at Your Door,” by Eva Eland
Sadness can become overwhelming, especially if you don’t understand the reason behind it. For young children that are unfamiliar with this emotion, it can be confusing and hard to deal with. The author introduces this feeling as if it was a visitor to the child’s home. She uses simple illustrations which give “Sadness” a fluid shape, leaving the reader to interpret what Sadness means to them. Meanwhile, she provides the reader with ideas of how to work with Sadness, such as drawing or going for a walk. This shows that there is a process to dealing with Sadness and that it takes more than saying, “Get over it,” which can be more anxiety-inducing than helpful. Recommended ages 5-8.
One of the many goals of National Mental Health Awareness Month is to start open, frank conversations about mental illness and health. We hope that these titles may be able to jump-start one or many such conversations or even lead to a library visit to discover more helpful resources.