Books that Address Mental Health

It’s national Mental Health Awareness week. Because of that, I wanted to take a look at some of the books I’ve read in the not-too-distant past that centre mental health, or characters who are dealing with mental health issues.

Some of these books I enjoyed more than others. I thought some depicted mental health in ways I identified with more than others. But I know that everybody experiences mental illness very differently, so I’m not trying to make any claims about ‘better’ and ‘worse’ examples here.

I’ve also split my list up into books targeted at adults and books for more of a young adult audience.

Adult books that address mental health

The Midnight Library

The protagonist of The Midnight Library is deeply depressed. The book begins with the day she decides to commit suicide, and then explores all the various lives she could have lived instead of the one she ended. It explores regret, and missed opportunities, and the weight of feeling like you’ve let everybody down – including, or maybe especially, yourself.

That makes it sound really heavy, and in some ways it is. But at the same time, I found it a really hopeful book. I personally think Matt Haig did an outstanding job of finding the lights within the dark topics the book handles.

Queenie

The eponymous Queenie is dealing with low self-esteem and anxiety. When I say dealing with, perhaps co-existing with would be more apt. She’s having a hard time, and eventually becomes so overwhelmed that she starts therapy.

I think there are a couple of particularly notable things about this book. One being that it specifically examines the journey of coming to terms with mental health difficulties as a Black woman living in London. This isn’t a perspective you see a lot of in fiction that focuses on mental health. Also, I just loved the way therapy was handled in the novel. It definitely felt like one of the more realistic and clear-eyed portrayals of therapy that I’ve seen in a book.

Pizza Girl

Pizza Girl’s main character isn’t ever diagnosed with a mental health disorder. She is grieving her father’s death though, and struggling with a pregnancy that she seems ambivalent towards.

This isn’t a story that addresses mental health really, but it feels so woven into the fabric of the book that it felt wrong to leave it off this list. I read this for an upcoming episode of the podcast I co-host, and both of us deeply identified with Pizza Girl’s struggle.

Young adult books about mental health

I Wish You All the Best

The main character of I Wish You All the Best has anxiety, exacerbated by circumstances. They’ve just come out to their parents as non-binary, and been kicked out as a result. They try to learn how to deal with their mental health struggles, while also navigating a new school and living situation.

I liked the way therapy was introduced in the book. Ben, the protagonist, is reluctant to start therapy, and struggles at first to engage with it. The way the therapist approached the situation was interesting to me, and although I didn’t love everything about the way that storyline unfolded, I certainly thought its introduction was good.

And the Stars Were Burning Brightly

This young adult book deals with suicide of a loved one, and the difficulty of accepting and grieving this loss for the family left behind. It also addresses bullying, and the pain that can cause.

The focus in All the Stars is definitely more on the story than the mental illness. There isn’t a lot of page-time dedicated to treating or managing mental health disorders. But the characters feel vibrant and realistic as they move through the story and their respective struggles.

Turtles All the Way Down

The main character of Turtles All the Way Down has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and anxiety. The book addresses thought spirals, and the feeling of being trapped in your own head. It describes anxiety with a vividness that I found pretty difficult to read sometimes. I don’t usually find myself triggered by depictions of mental illness, but this one felt closer to home than I think any other description I’ve read.

Darius the Great is Not Okay

Darius is a teen on medication for depression. And I cannot tell you how much I appreciated the way that was handled in this book. From Darius’s feelings about other people’s reactions to him being on medication, to the frank discussion of the process of finding the right medication for him, I just loved it.

To be clear, the medication – and indeed the depression – isn’t a defining feature of Darius the Great is Not Okay. Darius is living with his depression, and the book is about far more than this one part of his identity. It’s a beautiful novel in a whole bunch of ways. It’s also one that I’ve appreciated more each time I’ve thought about it since reading it. But definitely a huge highlight for me was the thoughtful depiction of managed teenage depression.

Have you read any great books about mental health?

I’m always on the lookout for recommendations. Adult or young adult, contemporary fiction or sci-fi/fantasy, I’d love to hear your advice on books to check out where the characters handle mental health issues. Drop any titles in the comments!