Mental Health Awareness Week: 5 Book Recommendations

Mental health books

Before you go dismissing Mental Health Awareness Week as nothing to do with you, because you don’t have a mental illness, I’d like to point out that that’s not necessarily the case. Mental wellbeing affects all of us, it can incorporate stress, anxiety and the effects of not dealing with emotions and letting them build up, which can make us ill.

And yes, there are the people who are for whatever reasons, more naturally disposed to having more of these problems or having difficulties most people will never experience. They are people, they are human, and if you get to know them, you will find they are just like you. You may frown upon these sort of things, but the truth is, they are real and you cannot hide from them.

Much of the fear people have of these sort of things comes from stereotypes imposed by pop culture. This whole thing about women being beautiful and men being tough enough to break iron, is an image many people try to maintain. And if you don’t, you’re not normal. Although seriously, does anyone really know what normal is? There’s more to a woman than her beauty and more to a man than his strength.

So if you’re feeling brave, or are sick of the lack of acknowledgement of human emotion and differences in books, then here are five book recommendations for you.

 

1. ‘We Were Liars’ by E. Lockhart

We Were Liars
Source: delicateeternity.com/

“He wrapped my wrists in soft white gauze and asked me questions about what had happened. He asked about Dad and about Gran—as if talking about something could make it better. As if wounds needed attention.”

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

I love this book, though most people who know anything about me probably know that. It’s just this beautiful story, about a girl called Cady, who has a very rich family who have their own private island which they spend their summers on. She has an accident when she’s 15 which she can’t remember properly, leaving her with serious migraines from trauma. The book follows her journey to remembering, with a heavy focus on her summers on the island with her cousins and a friend of one of her cousins.

This book is slow to get into, to the extent that there are actually boring parts to it. Unfortunately, it’s one of those books you don’t really fully understand or appreciate until you’ve finished it, so please don’t give up on it.

Cady is a very unreliable narrator and it’s not until near the end that you receive any clear answers as to what happened. This is because she cannot bring herself to remember what actually happened.

This is a mystery novel, therefore I highly advise not reading up about it until after you’ve read it. However: what I will say is this:

This book and the truth of what happens to Cady, is a very clear message about what happens when you don’t talk about your emotions. Cady’s family are the type that are obsessed with keeping up an image, even within their own family. Cady’s mother is constantly telling her to “be normal” throughout his book. Though to her Mum, being normal apparently means, don’t cry when your Gran’s died and your Dad’s left home.

Her only outlet from this is her cousin Johnny’s friend Gat, who is very interested in the world and believes in contemplation and talking about things. He always encourages Cady to express her feelings and talk about things when she is upset.

I could probably market this book to a tree, I love it that much (though granted I’m very aware that that wouldn’t achieve anything). Seriously, go read it.

 

2. ‘Divergent’ by Veronica Roth

Divergemt book
Source: Wikipedia

“I belong to the people I love and they belong to me—they and the love and loyalty I give them form my identity far more than any word or group ever could.”

Allegiant – Divergent Trilogy: Book 3 by Veronica Roth

This is my favourite book, which again I think people probably know. Most people have heard of it, but the majority of people have just watched the film. It’s not a total wreck as far as film adaptations go, but one thing it doesn’t portray anywhere near as well as the book, is the amount of anxiety Tris, the main character goes through.

The book follows the faction of Dauntless, which oddly enough use exposure therapy to overcome fear. For those of you who don’t know, exposure therapy is the idea of being exposed to what you are afraid of, in order to overcome that fear. Tris has a range of fears that while not common, there will certainly be people who experience the same. Additionally, she is very in touch with her emotions, which makes her a very unique as well as a very realistic character.

The main thing that makes me recommend this book to people, particularly those with a disability, mental health condition or anyone who generally is a bit different from everyone else, is because of the positive way it deals with the concept of being different. Tris is told near the start of the book, that she is Divergent, but that she cannot tell anyone. So, she is dealing with this label all on her own and trying to work out who she is, as someone who is in ways different from everyone else.

Veronica Roth talks openly on her blog about the issues she’s personally had with anxiety, particularly related to the publication of her books. I wasn’t surprised when I read that about her, as a great deal of what she talks about regarding anxiety comes across in Tris in the story.

I think the way she wrote Tris was a brave writing decision, though I also think it shouldn’t have to be. There are a very limited number of books that really delve deeply into these sorts of issues. Many of the books that claim they cover them, either merely scratch the surface or are peppered with misconceptions or stereotypes.

To take that step further and talk about her own personal experiences on her blog was certainly very brave, but something I’m sure has been insightful for many people, particularly those with similar experiences. Unfortunately, there are some fans who have chosen to thank her for her honesty and for the extent to which she has taken care to make this series as realistic and true to human nature as possible, by highly criticising the final book in the trilogy, to the extent that I should imagine she received an awful lot of hate mail.

There’s been a great deal of controversy around the final book, but if you haven’t read it because of talk about the ending, I would honestly ask you to reconsider that decision. The book is worth reading and at the very least, you should form your own judgments. I wrote a whole article about this for Cultured Vultures in March, so if you happen to want to hear my thoughts on that ending you can see that there.

But honestly, you should read this trilogy and please don’t watch the films. The first one is okay for after you’ve read the books maybe, but the latter adaptations serve as a reminder that Hollywood still don’t want to move away from their stereotypes.

 

3. Doodle Zen: Finding Calm and Creativity In A Sketchbook by Dawn School

Doodle Zen book
Source: Amazon

I can’t really quote this book, because well it’s an art book. It’s the only one on this list I haven’t personally read. However, another of our reviewers has and you can see that review here.

I know this is an art book, but I was so impressed with the concept, that I felt it needed to be on list. Basically, Doodle Zen provides a brief introduction and then provides stimulus for the reader to draw in and generally do what they like with, the book. The idea of this book, is to help people become more calm. But don’t dismiss this as some crazy sales gimmick, as there is a lot of truth in the theory that immersing yourself in something creative can help to relieve stress and anxiety.

As a writer, I’m not afraid to admit that getting stuck into some creative writing is a source of relief and relaxation and something I quite often turn to when I’m going through hard times. Anyone who does anything creative, be that art, writing or any other of the arts, will know what I mean when I say, there’s such relief to throwing all your energy and effort into doing something really creative.

Seriously, if you’re angry, why not write a great argument scene, or bring out loads of paint and paint a picture of an extremely violent storm?

If you’re not the arty type, then baking bread could be the solution. Honestly, you can have great fun kneading bread (because you’re essentially throwing it around) when you’re annoyed about something and it still tastes epic.

If you let it, creativity can help you immensely. So, if you’re in to drawing or fancy giving it a try, then this book may be a cool innovative tool to get you going.

 

4. Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Lady Midnight book

“She put her arms around him, her chin against his shoulder. Ty leaned against her, his eyes half-lidded. Ty liked physical affection when he was in the mood for it, as long as it wasn’t too intense…”

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

What I love about this book, is the characterisation. Cassandra Clare has often explored complex characters, with both her other book series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices, each featuring a lead male character with a complicated history and subsequently a complicated personality.

In Lady Midnight, pretty much all of the characters have a complicated history. The main characters Julian and Emma at the age of 17, practically bring up the other 4 kids in the family. There is a great deal to be admired in the way they support each other. Additionally, they are very in touch with their emotions which I think is really cool.

On top of this, there is a storyline about Ty, one of the kids, who has many difficulties and anxieties that most people do not have. These are things such as that he can’t stand loud noise therefore he carries headphones to wear when it is too loud, he has difficulty with understanding certain phrases such as it’s raining cats and dogs and he suffers a great deal of anxiety and as such carries things to fiddle with when he is stressed. His twin sister Livvy is constantly supporting him, as are the other members of the family, which is such a beautiful thing to see.

If this book’s anything to go on, Cassandra Clare seems to be setting these characters on the task of trying to change the perceptions about mental health in her fantasy Shadow World. While doing so, she is presenting these issues, with a palatable blend of urban fantasy and of course, an abundance of good humour, to a world that still doesn’t accept them very well.

When I wrote a review of this book, I was going to write a whole paragraph about Ty’s differences, in fact I actually drafted it, but then deleted it. The reason for this, is I felt I shouldn’t have to talk about that in the context of a book review. Ty is a character in his own right and to me his differences shouldn’t be the main thing people think of when they think about Ty. So while I talked about how nice it was to see such a close knit twin relationship in my review, I didn’t dig into the nitty gritty of Ty’s difficulties because I didn’t feel it was appropriate.

That’s not because I, like a lot of people, think it’s something that shouldn’t be talked about, because I do think the world needs to increase its tolerance of people who are different, but to me that tolerance means treating them how you would treat everyone else and not having to have some big conversation about why they are different all the time. Because of this, I wanted to talk about Ty as a person, not Ty and his differences, in my review.

Anyhow, as I say, it’s an epic book and you should definitely read it, particularly if you like fantasy. This is in no way a book about family life, there is plenty of magic and demon fighting to be enjoyed. For more information, you can see my full review here.

 

5. Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill

Only Ever Yours book
Source: www.louiseoneillauthor.com

“I want to hide, fold into the shadows and become invisible so no-one can look at me anymore.”

Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill

Basically, Only Ever Yours should probably be under the word misogyny in the dictionary. It is about a world, that is probably as anti-feminist as you can imagine. Girls are genetically produced for the purpose of pleasing men. This book follows two friends through their final year at the school they attend, which prepares them for pleasing men.

I guess this is quite a school life story, but with a very dystopian twist. The girls are trained to look beautiful, not to have any emotions and always to do as instructed by men, because supposedly that’s what’s best. This is not one of those dystopias where our heroine tries to change the world, rather it is one where we watch her mental and physical health deteriorate as a result of the traumas in her world.

This may sound a pretty intense read. In many ways it is, but in other ways, I think it’s worth it. With the world going the way it is, with many women seeing their role as looking beautiful, I really think this is a story that needs to be told. It is a story designed to make people realise what can come of undervaluing women the way many people do today. Louise O’Neill does a very good job of telling this story, therefore I do recommend you read it.

So, those are my book recommendations. Enjoy Mental Health Awareness week and remember that all of us have emotions and that in order to maintain good mental health, we need to rely on support from one another and perhaps engage in some calming creative activities regularly. Most importantly, we need to read books that are not afraid of exploring human emotions rather than those that choose to present stereotypes.

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