May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to learn and talk about mental health of all kinds.
Anyone can struggle with mental health, and the more we talk about it, the less alone we feel. Reading can provide that feeling too, wherever mental health is discussed. Whether it’s through a scientific, non-fiction book, a memoir or fictional story, representation of mental health issues helps us all to understand ourselves and others better.
Here are a few reading recommendations for you to mark Mental Health Awareness Month.
Victoria Toomey, Outreach Coordinator, Center for Community Resources
Book: "Turtles All the Way Down"
Author: John Green
This is a coming-of-age fiction that follows a young girl on the hunt to solve a missing persons case in her town, while also navigating her day-to-day life, living with anxiety and OCD.
I think what really stood out to me about this book is just the deeply empathetic and human way that mental health is depicted throughout the story, and the opportunity for readers to step into someone else's shoes to really see what it's like to live with those thoughts in your brain as you try to navigate the normal ups and downs of life.
I hope you enjoy this book, and I wish you a happy Mental Health Awareness Month.
Morgan Taylor, Dalton
Book: "Starving for Color"
Author: M.T. Ramblings
For Mental Health Awareness Month, I'd like to showcase a collection of poetry, "Starving for Color" by M.T. Ramblings. This is the debut release from the author, who was also the front man of the late 2000s alternative band, The Bunny The Bear, recollecting their experience with depression, addiction and failing relationships throughout the pages of the small but mighty work of poetry.
I find myself picking up this collection of prose when all of the big, sorrowful thoughts and emotions take over. M.T. Ramblings really has a way of bringing you back to the surface and grounding the reader by their recollection of internal struggles.
Brandon Lux, mental health counselor, Lackawanna County
Book: "On Becoming a Person: A Therapist's View of Psychotherapy"
Author: Carl Rogers
Carl Rogers was an early pioneer in mental health counseling in the 1960s and he developed this monumental book on mental health.
It centers around how to become the best version of yourself and it focuses on a lot of things including being honest with yourself, being genuine with others, how to show empathy to others and how to self-actualize, which means living honestly and authentically in your true feelings and not hiding them or trying to be someone you're not.
Essentially the book is all about authenticity and becoming your true authentic self.
Sarah Scinto, WVIA Morning Edition Host and Reporter
Book: “It’s Kind of a Funny Story”
Author: Ned Vizzini
The best books that deal with mental health are ones that are relatable and real. Even if they’re fiction, when a character’s story and inner thoughts feel real to us, it can help us figure out or put words to things we’ve experienced ourselves.
Ned Vizzini’s “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” feels achingly real, and there’s a reason for that. The story of 15-year-old Craig’s struggle with depression and his time in a psychiatric hospital was based on the author’s own experience.
Though the subject matter is heavy, Craig is a teenage boy, and his inner voice and humor make for an engaging, poignant and funny story as he works to get better and finds friendship among the other patients at the hospital.
That’s all for this edition of Bookmarks! Join us again on May 24 for some favorite mystery and thriller reads.
