Book Round-up: National Mental Health Month

 Hello Ink Drinkers, 

Since May is National Mental Health Month, I wanted to share a few books dealing with various mental health topics that I've read and loved. 

I've found that while I love reading books with heavier topics, such as struggles with mental health, I sometimes may not be in the right mindset. And if I'm not there, the books can seriously affect my mood, and not for the better. (Is reading a book about mental health that then affects my mental health in a way that may be warned about or dealt with in the book, a kind of fourth-wall break?)

I think I've tended to gravitate towards fictional books for this topic, but I'd like to read a few more non-fiction books. Maybe those kinds of books can give me a richer understanding of these topics and illnesses? 



Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson

202 pages, Published: October 1999

YA, Contemporary Fiction, Mental Health Rep

⭐⭐⭐⭐


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Girl in Pieces, by Kathleen Glasgow

416 pages, Published: August 2016

YA, Contemporary Fiction, Mental Health Rep

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

I thought Glasgow created very human and relatable characters and though she kept the story realistic, her writing and descriptions were really quite lovely.

I don't usually do this, but I actually marked a couple of quotes that really stood out to me.

"I cut because I can't deal. It's as simple as that. The world becomes an ocean, the ocean washes over me, the sound of water is deafening, the water drowns my heart, my panic becomes as large as planets. I need release, I need to hurt myself more than the world can hurt me, and then I can comfort myself."

"'The moral of the story, Charlie, is this: Don't let the cereal eat you. It's only a f*cking box of cereal, but it will eat you alive if you let it.'"

I don't want to give any big spoilers, so I guess I'll do light spoilers. If you're worried that this book is a total downer, it's not. (I actually felt kind of warm and fuzzy when I finished it.) I'm really happy that Glasgow took on a hard, but important subject and handled it so well and with such wonderful writing. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Heartstopper Series, by Alice Oseman

Varies, Published: January 2018 - July 2026

YA, Graphic Novel, LGBTQIAP+, Mental Health Rep (touched upon, but not always the main focus)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Same Time Next Week: True Stories of Working Through Mental Illness, Edited by Lee Gutkind

304 pages, Published: March 2015

Nonfiction, Essays, Short Stories, Mental Health Rep

⭐⭐⭐⭐

“No crummy coat, no layers, no smell.
Dolores eyed her up and down, and then glanced back at me. This wasn’t lost on Suzanne.
‘Don’t gloat,’ she said to both of us. ‘It’s just too cold outside. I thought it was time to move the circus inside.’
‘Inside,’ I said, ‘is a very good place for us to go.’ ”

While this book can be difficult to read, I really enjoyed it. I appreciated the wide variety of narrative voices and experiences shared in the book. I definitely recommend reading this because it touches upon an area of our society that is still so misunderstood and stigmatized. The only caveat I would offer is to go slowly and maybe only read one story at a time. That way, you’re able to really appreciate the story, and I found I sometimes needed a break because things were getting a little too dark and heavy.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman

325 pages, Published: May 2017

11 hours, Narrated by Cathleen McCarron

Contemporary Fiction, Mental Health Rep

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Currently, it feels like the world is in shambles and in the midst of falling apart. For reference, I live in America. I'm still struggling with finding the right balance of staying informed and engaged as a citizen, while protecting my mental health so that I can do everyday tasks. 

One thing I have learned is that I have to limit my intake of information, whether that is the news, bookish posts on social media, or even Youtube videos. My brain literally needs silence in order to recalibrate and handle the next onslaught of information and stimuli. 

While I don't have everything figured out, one thing I have learned is that you need to find the small joys and small moments of peace. These can be found through that first sip of coffee or tea in the morning, or enjoying the breeze as you walk to your car after work. It sounds a little cheesy, but I found that this does help counter some of the truly awful current events. 

Here's to taking care of ourselves and looking after one another the best we can. 


Cheers,

Creepella



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

March Reading Wrap-up

Image
 Hello Ink Drinkers!  March was a really good reading month. It was a bit risky because I had quite a few ARCs from mostly new-to-me authors, but I enjoyed most of them.  I won't go into full reviews here, so I'll include those in later posts (I'm still trying to figure out how I want this blog and the posts to work). I'm leaning towards the wrap-ups being summaries with the information for the books and just star ratings.  Moniker, by Wrenna King Dark Voices #1 400 pages, e-book Dark Romance ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ARC copy provided by Luna Literary Management The Hazard and the Hitman, by Cambria Hebert The Protectors #1 392 pages, e-book Dark Romance, MM Romance ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ARC copy provided by The Author Agency Get a Q, by Nicole Parker A Sentient Holiday Series Spin-Off 108 pages, e-book Sentient Object Romance, MM Romance ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ARC copy provided by the author Unholy, by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine Park Avenue Kings #6 279 pages, e-book MM Romance, Second Chance Romance ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ARC copy p...
Read more

2025 Infamous Diseases Read-A-Long

  Introduction and Information Salutations Readers,  Last year I saw someone on Instagram post a themed reading challenge/plan. It was a non-fiction historical theme and one of the books discussed scurvy. Long story short, I've always been fascinated with historical diseases, especially the Black Death, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to read all about diseases to my dark heart's content.  Most of the diseases are historical and I tried to stick to diseases that have quite a bit of infamy, would offer numerous book options and that I had heard of, obviously. That being said, this is not an exhaustive list.  I wanted to match most month's diseases and book selections to a holiday, or rough theme for that particular month. Here is where I would like to preface that I have a darker sense of humor that won't be appreciated by everyone. However, this isn't a requirement, so please feel free to read the books in any order you like.  This will be a v...
Read more

My Flexible Rating System

Greetings Ink Drinkers,  Here is the rough breakdown for my star rating system. I will mostly keep to this, but how I rate books is pretty flexible and subject to my ever-shifting moods and whims.  1-2 Stars - I didn’t care for anything here (characters, story, writing, etc.). 3 Stars - I enjoyed the book enough to finish it. However, I had issues with one or more items (story, characters, pacing, etc.). 4 Stars - I fully enjoyed this book - the characters, the writing, the story, the pacing...it all worked for me. 5 Stars - I LOVED this book. All of the same things as 4 star, but it also struck a chord with me...usually made me grin like an idiot too. No Stars - this was a mismatch between book and reader, but nothing was inherently wrong with the book. While I do want to share my opinions about books with fellow readers, most of it is fairly subjective. So I don't want to be too harsh on a book or author that is perfectly fine, even if they're not for me.  Hopefull...
Read more