Books Dealing With Mental Illness;

     I was going to post my review of the Graveyard Book today, and then apologize for being absent (but for real, sorry I was absent. My car broke down on the interstate on my way home from college, and I've been dealing with that and blah blah blah) and then I remembered, today is Mental Health Awareness day. I'm a strong believer in informing everyone about the legitimacy and actuality of mental illness. I've dealt with mental illness first and second hand since I was very young, and I feel it's very important to recognize these issues.
    What better way to promote mental health awareness on a book blog than make a list of my favourite books that tackle mental illnesses.



 1.)   The Perks of Being a Wallflower ; Obvious choice. Charlie, the protagonist, is suffering from depression and possibly PTSD. And we see Charlie following the suicide of his close friend trying to piece his life back together. I really liked this book, I thought Charlie was vulnerable, and funny. It was really heart-warming and I would recommend it.

2.)  The Silver Linings Playbook ; Now, I had the opportunity to meet Matthew Quick, and hear him talk about this book, what it meant to him, where he drew inspiration from, and how dreamy Bradley Cooper was in person (just as dreamy as you'd wish). Matthew Quick did a great job dealing with a lot of tough subjects in the book. It follows Pat Peoples who is just released from the mental hospital. He meets Tiffany, who is similarly unstable, and a widow. It's a very real and human story, and the movie is great as well.

3.) Willow ; I read Willow at a time in my life where I could relate very much to the main character. I have always found that comforting. Willow deals primarily with self-harm and depression. I know that is triggering for some people, so if you have a trigger for self-harm, please avoid this book. However, this book really helped me. Willow made a big mistake and since then her life has been spiraling down. We see her find hope, and light, and at least for me I had a little hope for myself at the end of the novel.


 4.) Speak ; Speak follows a young girl after being date-raped. She is basically stunned into silence. It's heartbreaking. Again, I understand this can be a trigger for some people, so please know your limits before you read. You could probably classify the behavior expressed as PTSD and depression.

5.) Bud, Not Buddy ; I read this book in the third grade, and I'm so glad I pulled it from the shelf. It deals with abuse. Bud is a ten year old orphan during the Great Depression. He deals with abusive foster parents before leaving on his own to find his dad. This book is just fantastic. It is written for a younger age group (if I'm remembering properly) but this book is just SO GOOD. I would recommend this book to everyone, and thinking about it is making me want to re-read it.

  Below I'll link to some other books, that I've read, am reading, or have heard of that deal with mental illness, that either I don't want to particularly rant about, or that I personally might not have liked (but other people have). If I'm not 100% correct on some of these tags, I'm sorry!


The Virgin Suicides ; Depression, Suicide

Thirteen Reasons Why ; Suicide

It's Kind of A Funny Story ; Depression, Self-Harm, Suicide, Stress

Fight Club ; Split Personality, Depression

The Program ; Suicide, Depression

The Impossible Knife of Memory ; PTSD

Girl, Interrupted ;  Self-Harm, Depression, Suicide