Monthly recommendations: mental illness representaion

Find out more about the Goodreads group here! This month is books with mental illness representation.

Okay, being totally honest, I did a post similar to this last year so I literally just duplicated that post and took the books and added a couple more. sorry not sorry

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Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

This is one of my favourite books. Charlie is such an angel, and I think the portrayal here was very fair. I also like that they show institutionalization as an okay thing, like it’s not the end of the world and it can be really beneficial to some people.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

I read this a million years ago, but I remember loving it. I like that it portrays hospitalization and medication as a things that can be useful.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

Though I thought the ending was a little iffy, I liked most of the portrayal here. Leonard’s thought process and his actions were very similar to what someone who was suicidal would do.

Everday by David Levithan

One of the people that A is one day has an addiction, and another has major depression and is super suicidal. I liked how both were portrayed, and how A still viewed them the same way he does other people.

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Okay you all know my feelings (hatred) for this book. All that being said though, I did appreciate how it portrayed anxiety and depression. Finch is literally the worst and I hate him. BUT I think that is also important: you can still be an annoying, douchey twat AND have several mental illnesses. Just because you have depression or anxiety doesn’t mean I have to like you. I think that’s important to show, and I’m kind of glad it did.

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

This is a memoir about when Kaysen was hospitalized. Again, it portrays hospitalization as a thing that can help. I really liked how it was a true insiders look. The anecdotes were super interesting.

Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Kiko has social anxiety in this book and man could I relate. It was so well done and some of the best anxiety representation I’ve ever read.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

This book doesn’t explicitly discus mental illness, it does look at how poverty affects mental health and it was really interesting. I highly recommend it.

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I thought the representation of depression was really accurate and how cultural identity can influence mental health. I really enjoyed it!

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Any other recommendations?

Thanks for reading! xx

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/