When I stopped seeing my therapist, she asked if I would give her a list of YA book recommendations which look at mental health issues in a hopeful way. She said that someone else she was seeing liked books too, but he only had a few self-help books which he would read again and again and again. And it made me realise that even for avid bookworms, it can be weirdly difficult to find new books when you're not in the industry in any way. Already, books which had helped me and which I knew had helped others were flitting into my mind, and I started work on the list. (I'm also looking to work with my local NHS mental health service to make a mental health book club in my community, specifically for young people... lots of planning to do, but hopefully it goes ahead!)
When I'd finished my list, I knew I'd share it here, too. I've done a similar post before but that was ages ago, and I'm pleased to see that lots more YA about mental health has been released since then. Here's an updated version. Hope it helps some of you, and feel free to pass it on to your local surgeries or mental health services - books can't replace medicine and/or treatment, but like running is good for the body, reading is good for the mind.
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