13 books about mental health for you and your teens
Mental Health Awareness Week runs from Monday 13th May to Sunday 19th May 2024. This year's theme, as set by the Mental Health Foundation, is 'movement'. The week is an opportunity for people to talk about everything to do with mental health, with a focus on help and support. Josh Silver, who is a mental health nurse and author of HappyHead, has joined us to recommend 13 books about mental health for adults and teenagers alike.
"As a mental health nurse, I have had the pleasure of seeing many young people reading on the wards and recommending books that they have found useful. As someone who has struggled (still do) with my own mental health, I have often found books a brilliant way of not only taking myself out of my own head, but of finding other people who I can relate to. Not only this, but it gives me the chance to learn about different perspectives and gain a wider understanding of what others might be going through.
Here, I have put together a list of YA books that you might enjoy if you have struggled or are struggling with your mental health. Sometimes there’s nothing like a good story to transport me if I feel like I need to escape a bit. It’s an amazing feeling when that happens." Josh Silver
Fiction
Turtles All The Way Down by John Green
I have seen a few patients reading this book who have told me how much they love it. I recommend it. 16-year-old Aza has OCD and anxiety and is attempting to search for a missing billionaire.
Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Tackling the themes of anxiety, grief and loss, we follow Rumi, as she navigates the death of her younger sister. This book is honest and full of hope.
The Astonishing Colour of After by Emily X.R. Pan
Leigh is 16 when her mother kills herself. This book moves through the depths of grief as Leigh tries to piece together her history in order to find herself again.
Mosquitoland by David Arnold
This book tackles some difficult themes but is funny, warming and honest. We follow Mim on her physical and psychological journey to discovery.
Heartstopper series by Alice Oseman
As someone who has ADHD, I can struggle to focus or move my mind away from one single thought. I love graphic novels for this very reason. They transport me immediately. Charming and fun, Charlie and Nick will have your hearts.
Speak: The Graphic Novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson and illustrated by Emily Carroll
'Speak up for yourself—we want to know what you have to say.' Another graphic novel, Laurie Halse Anderson uses this fiercely honest and important story to bring to light the difficulties of sexual assault and its fallout.
Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne
Evie has OCD and anxiety, which often come hand in hand. I love this book because it’s about someone who attempts to suppress their 'illness' and tries to appear 'normal'. Simply put, understanding that this is not the route to happiness is wonderful to read. Also, a great feminist story that everyone should read.
And The Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando
I had the pleasure of meeting Danielle, a fellow Manc, in QueerLit bookshop in Manchester. Not only a great person, but this book compassionately looks at the themes of suicide and the way the modern world affects our mental health. It's really powerful.
The Sad Ghost Club by Lize Meddings
This is so original—I loved it. This graphic novel is about the importance of finding your tribe.
Clean by Juno Dawson
I have always loved Juno Dawson. I will forever be a supporter of not only her trans activism, but her books too. Clean is the first instalment in her London trilogy. As someone who has been sober for a while now due my own struggles with addiction, I found this book hit home in its exploration of getting clean and dealing with the wreckage of what is left behind. Love it.
Now, some non-fiction for anyone who is interested in learning more about mental health and the nuances of diagnoses. As a nurse, I have learnt so much about the need to treat each person individually. Not one person’s inner world is the same as someone else's, and these books helped me recognise the importance of knowing that.
Non-Fiction
Scattered Minds, The Myth of Normal, and In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Maté
Scattered Minds helped me understand my ADHD, The Myth Of Normal helped me learn that we are all relatively similar despite our differences and In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts helped me when I was getting sober. The early days were hard and this book allowed me to make sense of it.
This Book Will Change Your Mind About Mental Health by Nathan Filer
This book should be read by everyone. The stigma attached to psychosis (something wider society knows little about and looks at through a very narrow lens), is shattered by this book. Read it.
Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker and Julia Scheele
Really important stuff in this book about the current hatred aimed at and within the LGBTQI+ community. It lays out the problems of a society driven by heteronormativity. Meg has a clear agenda and keenly expresses that we must start by all being kinder to one another and understanding different perspectives. Solidarity.
About HappyHead by Josh Silver
We are in an epidemic. An epidemic of unhappiness.
Friends, here is the good news: HappyHead has the answer.
When Seb is offered a place on a radical retreat designed to solve the national crisis of teenage unhappiness, he is determined to change how people see him and make his parents proud. But as he finds himself drawn to the enigmatic Finn, Seb starts to question the true nature of the challenges they must undergo. The deeper into the programme the boys get, the more disturbing the assessments become, until it’s clear there may be no escape...
The first in a thrilling, thought-provoking new series for fans of They Both Die at the End and Squid Game.
