3 World Mental Health Day Reading Recommendations

When I saw that it was World Mental Health Day on the 10th October, I immediately wanted to write a post recommending a couple of books that I have found useful or relatable in their coverage of mental health. I even wrote a little list of books on my phone, which I fully intended to turn into a post immediately. It has been a rather long immediately of 3 days, but we got here eventually so let’s get into it!

Mental health is a very important topic to me. I have struggled with depression and an eating disorder, and I know how isolating it can feel when everyone else seems to be coping with the world fine and your brain is on fire. Please, please, please reach out to someone. Anyone. You don’t have to do this alone and you do not deserve to feel bad, whatever your thoughts tell you. Friends and family are a great option for a more casual chat, and if your bouts of bad mental health are frequent then it may be a good idea to talk to a doctor. If the idea of talking to someone in person makes you want to curl up into a ball and roll into a volcano, then there are organisations you can text, call or message online depending on what you’re most comfortable doing. I’ll leave some links at the bottom of the post for you to check out if you feel you need them.

Everyone’s experience of mental health is unique so the books that speak to me might not speak to you in the same way, but I hope these might give you some reading ideas, or help spark a discussion with people you know about mental health. Also, while I will not be discussing sensitive topics in this post, some of these books will contain them so make sure to check content warnings if you are worried that they may affect you.

1. It’s Okay to Feel Blue

It’s Okay to Feel Blue is a collection of writings about mental health by over 70 people. It really does have something for everyone, and I highly recommend it if you want something that you can dip in and out of easily. For my full review, click here.

2. Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

Reasons to Stay Alive is an incredible book filled with Haig’s experiences of mental health. It is a mixture of conversations and personal anecdotes and lists, each one only a couple of pages each, so it is very easy to read. I think both people who have struggled with their mental health and those who haven’t should read this book, because it has some really great ways of describing how it feels to have depression. Also by Matt Haig is Notes on a Nervous Planet, another excellent nonfiction which also covers mental health but in a more general way, again in a fragmented format.

3. Anything by Holly Bourne

Holly Bourne is a writer or teen fiction and recently(ish) released her first adult novel. Her books frequently cover topics such as mental health, being yourself, relationships, and feminism. She is one of the authors that I will automatically read without even looking at the blurb- her writing is so emotional and honest. I will recommend them to pretty much anyone who wants to read some incredible contemporary fiction.

I decided to keep this short and sweet because I think long lists can definitely be overwhelming sometimes! Obviously there are lots of books that cover mental health, these are just a couple of my favourites.

List of UK mental health helplines here and another one here .

List of US mental health helplines here and here .

Please don’t suffer in silence, and look after yourself. Everyone has mental health, so even if you don’t have any particular problems with it you should still look after it like you would with physical health. Take a moment to breathe and check in with yourself- how are you feeling right now?

If you ever want someone to chat to, I’m happy to listen. Just message me on one of the links below or use my email on the links page. I hope you’re all having a good week ❤

April 2020 Round-Up

Hello and welcome to my April 2020 round-up! I honestly cannot believe it’s the end of April already and we are all stuck inside watching the weather through our windows. This is not how I thought 2020 was going to go, but I’m trying to make the best of the situation. I’ve been writing daily for Camp NaNoWriMo and making pom-poms like there’s no tomorrow. There is something incredibly therapeutic about winding wool round and round and round, especially while watching one of my favourite movies like Burlesque. Back to the books, I’m struggling to read as much as I did before, but I try to read a little each day, even if it is only a couple of pages. I’ve been feeling quite overwhelmed, so thanks for bearing with me while my blog posts are very sporadic. I will try to get some book reviews up soon!

Top 3 novels I read in April

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

What I liked about it: the unique format, the drama, the way she writes about music

What I did not like about it: Nothing that I can think of.

My favourite character: Camila. What an amazing woman.

Position in series: 1/1

Genre: Historical fiction, music

Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

What I liked about it: sassy misfit crew, aliens, lots of sarcasm, the action and excitement

What I did not like about it: my heart exploding

My favourite character: Tyler or Zila. I didn’t realise how awesome I think Tyler is until I actually considered it.

Position in series: 1/3

Genre: young adult, science fiction, fantasy

Dust by Hugh Howey

What I liked about it: an incredible conclusion to the Wool trilogy, the worldbuilding, the unravelling of the plot

What I did not like about it: DEATHS.

My favourite character: Jules. I would die for that woman. Amazing.

Position in series: 3/3

Genre: science fiction, post-apocalyptic

Poetry of the month: Wild Embers by Nikita Gill

What I liked about it: emotional and empowering

What I did not like about it: that it wasn’t longer!

My favourite poem: For Her

Genre: poetry, feminism

Special mention: Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

Why: this book means more to me than I can put into words. It has saved lives and reminds you that at no point are you alone. You can get through than this. There is more to life than your mental illness.

Genre: nonfiction, mental health

And that, folks, is my April in books. For a full list of everything I read in April, check out my goodreads which I try my best to keep up to date! I hope you’re all well, even if you’re feeling unmotivated like I am. Wishing you and your families all the best, and if you ever want to talk you can reach me through my contact page here, Instagram here or twitter here.

February 2020 Round-Up

So here we are again. The end of a month, where I round up my favourite books of the month/ scream into the void hoping it will choose the books for me. Since it is a leap year so February has an extra day, and also because I can do whatever I like on my blog, I am going to give my favourite book from this month, followed by a few more which were awesome

THE WINNER – QUEEN OF NOTHING BY HOLLY BLACK

Let me have everything I ever wanted, everything I ever dreamed, and eternal misery along with it. Let me live on with an ice shard through my heart.
Holly Black, Queen of Nothing

What I liked about it: everything. Jude. Cardan. Faeries. Humour and beauty. Plot twists galore. AN epic conclusion to this trilogy.

What I didn’t like about it: it’s the end of the series 😥

My favourite character: Jude all the wayyyyyyyy. She’s so badass and powerful and unashamed of wanting power.

Position in series: 3/3

Genres: young adult, fantasy, romance

THE OTHERS THAT I LOVED

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

What I liked about it: murder. It is set near where I live. Andie just straight up ignoring everyone who tells her what to do. The tension. The mixture of formats including transcripts and case notes.

What I didn’t like about it: I did not know there’s meant to be a sequel released this year. Also, the sequel hasn’t been released yet, which is very upsetting.

My favourite character: Andie. She just does what she wants but in a nice way.

Position in series: 1/3?

Genres: crime, young adult, contemporary, mystery, thriller

The Places I’ve Cried in Public by Holly Bourne

What I liked about it: the emotions. The contrast of past and present. More emotions. The slow unravelling of the story.

What I didn’t like about it: I have mentioned three authors on this page so far and they’re all called Holly. This is beyond confusing.

My favourite character: Amelie, my poor sweetheart.

Position in series: 1/1

Genres: contemporary, young adult, romance-ish

It’s Not OK to Feel Blue and Other Lies

What I liked about it: honest, diverse, emotional, easy to read because it’s made up of lots of short pieces.

What I didn’t like about it: Sometimes I got a bit confused because occasionally a sentence would be in massive letters to emphasise it. But that’s probably just me.

Genres: nonfiction, mental health

Pride, collected by Juno Dawson

What I liked about it: A range of genres, easy to read and lots of adorable LGBTQ+ relationships

What I didn’t like about it: It wasn’t long enough

My favourite character: Can’t remember her name but the girl with the phoenix

Position in series: N/A

Genres: LGBTQ+, short stories, anthology, poetry

And so that concludes my February roundup! February has seemed a very, very long time, and I don’t think it’s just because of the extra day. With three family birthdays, a hospital appointment, college, half term, two new piercings, a couple of cinema trips, a museum trip, a talk from Mary Beard and 17 books read, I’m definitely ready for some rest and relaxation in March. Preferably with more reading time. I hope you’ve all had a good February, and I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to.

It’s Not OK to Feel Blue Review

It’s Not OK to Feel Blue, edited by Scarlett Curtis

It’s Not Ok To Feel Blue and other lies is a vast collection of writings from various celebrities and activists on mental health. It includes personal anecdotes, poetry, song lyrics and even an illustration. With such a diverse array of minds with a variety of experiences with their mental health, there really is something for everyone.

I think anyone who reads this would take away something different from it depending on who you are, how your mental health is and what you need right now. I will attempt to explain what I thought were the best bits, but I highly recommend reading this for yourself.

This book did cause me to have a minor existential crisis, when I realised I have no idea what I want with my life. That being said, the collection is overall hopeful and quite inspiring, with statistics used sparingly and only when very relevant. It wasn’t a bad existential crisis, it just really made me consider areas of my own life. I found reading other people publicly sharing their experiences quite liberating, as they addressed the shame and stigma around sharing your own mental health problems. The contributions were funny at times, heart-breaking in others, just filled with so much honesty and vulnerability.

The book addresses mental health in conjunction with cancer, being a woman, race and class among other things. It is not simply personal experiences, but also how to be an LGBTQ+ ally and what you can do or say to help when a friend or family member is struggling with their mental health. This is not just a book for those with mental health problems, because everyone has mental health and as a whole society could do with talking about it more.

So read this book. Talk to someone. Cut out toxic things in your life. Make a change, one baby step at a time. Ask your friend if they’re truly okay. Things can, and do get better.

If you want to find out more or need some support, I’ll link a few websites below that are for general mental health but if you are looking for something specific a quick google will often bring one up, especially if you don’t live in the US or UK. If you have any questions or just want to talk, feel free to contact me 🙂

Childline , Shout , Mind , Time to Change , Young Minds , SANE

National Alliance for Mental Illness , To Write Love On Her Arms , The Trevor Project , Mental Health America