✨ Welcome back to another week of LTB! ✨
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and myself! In this discussion meme, participants get to talk about certain topics, share opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Learn more about LTB, past topics and future topics HERE.
This week’s topic is:
Mental Health and Books
Suggested by: Lin @ Lin’s Perpsective
Prompts: Are there any books that have helped you during a difficult moment in your life? What books would you deem a must-read-must-have when it comes to mental health awareness? What are your favorite book(s) that feature a main character going through a rough patch?
For as long as I can remember, books and reading have seen me through tougher times throughout my life, including several mental health dips in my late 20s and post-grad/early career years. Back then, I used to read a lot of dystopian and I loved the escapism of diving into worlds where characters could choose their destiny and stand up to oppressive regimes. Romance is a genre that I turned to a lot in my late 20s during tougher moments and I think I thrived on the angst as an emotional outlet to help me regulate what I was feeling. Something that I’m so appreciative of is how much mental health representation exists in books nowadays and in many different genres too. Growing up, discussions about mental health weren’t really something I saw in the books I read, so it was a ‘comforting’ experience reading about characters who were having similar thoughts and relatable experiences like me. Living in a society where mental health is still not openly discussed or accepted as an issue of concern, seeing this representation in books helped my younger self process thoughts and emotions, but even now, that relatability always makes me appreciate a book more.
As much as I enjoy those books though, I always have to make sure that I’m in the right headspace when reading it. As nice as it is to read about characters experiencing something similar or reflecting my thoughts/emotions, it can also be triggering if I’m feeling particularly sensitive to it—even if i may not realise it or even feel that way at the time I’m reading the book. That’s probably why there are more books on my TBR with mental health rep compared to the number of books I’ve read. But there were still many that I enjoyed/appreciated and would recommend too. Please do take care and check content/trigger warnings for these books before reading as some do cover topics/issues that can be very triggering!
Books I’ve Read
Books on my TBR
Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers who joined the discussion this week! 👇🏽
Jillian @ Jillian the Book Butterfly
The Abyssal Librarian
Nicky @ The Bibliophilian
Rachael @ The Green Tea Librarian
Lin @ Lin’s Perspective
If I’ve missed your post this week, don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments, and I’ll add you to this week’s list of community posts ASAP!
Have books helped you through a hard time? What books would you recommend?
dinipandareads 
I agree with you about being in the right headspace. When I am feeling dark, I cannot handle someone else’s mental health issue, not even a fictional character. I actually DNFed Elenor Oliphant twice. It was hitting too close to him in some way. I read seven of the other books and enjoyed them though. I read seven from your TBR, many were rated high by me.
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Yeah, I feel like my younger self would just pick up books that would emotionally damage without concern for my own headspace, but I’ve got better with that with age! 🤭 I’ve definitely become more mindful. I totally understand why you’d DNF Eleanor if it hits too close to home. You do what’s best for you! 💜
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I’m a big fan of Matt Haig’s nonfictions, especially Reasons to stay alive that I look back fondly on. Anxious people is also a really good one!
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I do have Reasons to Stay Alive on my TBR actually, and I’ve had it on there since I first heard about the book years (and years and years) ago. But I’ve been putting it off because I feel like I definitely have to be in the right headspace to read that one cos I feel it might hit very close to home. But I was actually just looking at it the other day and have placed it on a ‘easy access’ stack which means I might get to it sooner rather than (even) later! 🤞🏽
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I see! That makes sense
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I’ve been so happy with what Heartstopper has been doing with mental health! Lots of kids/teen books with mental health are either written at a reading level intense enough that only at-grade level readers can access them, or they’re not as serious of an examination as I’d like. Some of my kids with huge reading struggles have found so much in Heartstopper because its one of the few books they can read that treats teen mental health seriously, and it encourages them to pick up more books, which is nearly impossible for teenagers who have struggled with reading for a decade.
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Hearstopper is a book that I really wish had existed when I was a teenager going through big feelings and even bigger mental health struggles. Even as an adult reading it, it does me some emotional damage (in a good way)! I’m so glad that kids these days have books like Heartstopper to turn to and that it encourages them to read more as well! 💜
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Like you say, it is important to be in the right headspace for some books. The Secret World of Briar Rose is excellent, there are two characters experiencing different forms of depression. But I wouldn’t recommend it to people actively experiencing a depressive episode.
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I’ve heard that book is pretty intense due to what the characters are going through, but I’ve also heard that Cindy handles it pretty well (based on her own experiences too)? I’m definitely saving it for when I’m ready!
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I thought it was very well done and she does talk about her mental health and how she chose to apply it in her writing videos.
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I’ve joined in a little belatedly! https://breathesbooks.com/2026/08/15/lets-talk-bookish-mental-health/
And oof, can’t believe I forgot Heartstopper…!
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Thanks for joining! I’ve linked you up 🙂
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[…] Let’s Talk Bookish: Mental Health and Books […]
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Ooh, I really love this topic. I might make a note of it and cover it belatedly, if that’s ok?
I very much get what you mean about needing to be in the right head space – there are lots of things I really enjoy books/games/films/music wise but if I’m not in the right frame then I can end up feeling triggered by them (something I’m currently experiencing with Expedition 33).
From your lists I also really love The Poet X and Starfish. Back when I was first book blogging I LOVED Elizabeth Acevedo and Akemi Dawn Bowman (I even got to hang out a little with the latter at YALC many years ago), but don’t read so much of their work anymore. I would also recommend Summer Bird Blue from Akemi, but I think it’s much sadder than the first!
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Absolutely! You’re very welcome to join in the bookish discussions anytime you like 🙂
Also, omg, I don’t play (or let’s say haven’t yet) Expedition 33 but I’ve watched a lot of streamers play it and I ugly cry so hard every time. 😅 It is such an intense (and freaky!) game, I can imagine it’d be pretty triggering if you weren’t in the right headspace for it.
I got Bowman’s book way back in the massive YALC days (when I’d see it everywhere on bookstagram and the blogosphere and I read a lot more YA), and I actually tried reading it at one point but had to put it down because it was making me way too anxious. 🫠 I still want to read it though cos I remember loving the writing and how Bowman really got deep into the feels. I think I also have Summer Bird Blue (but on my Kindle) and I hope once I tackle the Starfish ‘hurdle’ I’ll be more ready for that one, haha.
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[…] Let’s Talk Bookish: Mental Health and Books (Dini @ dinipandareads) […]
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