Mental Illness

Mental illnesses are common, yet the stigma of discussions around mental health remains. We hope this compilation inspires conversations about mental health, whether you are a professor looking to round out a syllabus or someone hoping to better understand your own experiences. Read on to discover study guides for fiction and nonfiction titles spanning a variety of important topics, such as suicide, schizophrenia, depression and anxiety, trauma, and bipolar disorder.

Evil Eye

by Etaf Rum

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Mothers, Mental Health, Self Discovery, Immigration

Tags Realistic Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness

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Fellowship Point

by Alice Elliott Dark

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Death, Aging, Love, Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Community, Beauty, Animals, Plants, Place, Literature, Perseverance

Tags Historical Fiction, Depression & Suicide, Health, Love & Sexuality, Mental Illness, Parenting, Social Justice, Science & Nature, Modern Classic Fiction

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Fight Club

by Chuck Palahniuk

Publication year 1996

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Masculinity, Community, Mental Health, Gender Identity

Tags Satirical Literature, Horror & Suspense, Mental Illness, Grief & Death, Mystery & Crime Fiction, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

Fight Club (1996) is the debut novel of American author Chuck Palahniuk. Three years later, American filmmaker David Fincher directed the film adaptation starring Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden, Edward Norton as the Narrator, and Helena Bonham Carter as Marla Singer. This study guide uses the 2018 paperback edition published by W. W. Norton & Co.Fight Club is a contemporary work of literary fiction that contends with masculinity, materialism, consumer culture, and modern disillusionment. Inspired... Read Fight Club Summary

Finding Junie Kim

by Ellen Oh

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Hate & Anger, Memory, Language, Mental Health, Coming of Age, The Past, Food, Family, Friendship, Grandparents, Immigration, War, Justice

Tags Children`s Literature, Military & War, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction, Mental Illness, Realistic Fiction, Korean War

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Forget Me Not

by Ellie Terry

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Friendship, Childhood & Youth

Tags Realistic Fiction, Disability, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness

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Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

by Matthew Quick

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Future, Mental Health, Friendship, Good & Evil

Tags Depression & Suicide, Trauma & Abuse, Diversity, Realism, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness

The young adult novel Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock depicts the day 18-year-old Leonard Peacock plans to carry out a murder-suicide. Author Matthew Quick wrote this and other popular titles, including Silver Linings Playbook, adapted into the Oscar-winning film. This guide refers to the 2013 hardback first edition from Little, Brown and Company.Plot SummaryNarrator and protagonist Leonard Peacock sits alone in his home the morning of his birthday. Later that day, he plans to kill himself... Read Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock Summary

Freshwater

by Akwaeke Emezi

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Gender Identity, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Magical Realism, LGBTQ+, Fantasy, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness

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From the Ashes

by Jesse Thistle

Publication year 2019

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Mental Health, Indigenous Identity, Safety & Danger, Community, Family

Tags Inspirational, Trauma & Abuse, Race & Racism, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Mental Illness, Biography

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Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

by Alison Bechdel

Publication year 2006

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Gender Identity, Family, Fathers, Daughters & Sons, Literature, Truth & Lies, Femininity, Masculinity

Tags LGBTQ+, Life-Inspired Fiction, Relationships, Love & Sexuality, Parenting, Depression & Suicide, Mental Illness, Grief & Death, Gender & Feminism, Biography

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (2006) is a graphic novel memoir written and illustrated by underground cartoonist Alison Bechdel. The book centers on Bechdel’s relationship with her late father Bruce Allen Bechdel, who died in what she believes was a death by suicide. Fun Home is a non-linear narrative that rehashes events from Alison Bechdel’s youth and adolescence. Her memories are presented in the comic panels, overlayed with her prosaic, retrospective musings in text boxes... Read Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic Summary

Girl in Pieces

by Kathleen Glasgow

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Community, Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Mental Illness, Trauma & Abuse

Girl in Pieces is the New York Times bestselling young adult contemporary novel by Kathleen Glasgow originally published in 2016. It was a New York Public Library Best Book for Teens selection and Amelia Bloomer Project Award Selection. The novel explores a teen’s recovery journey from self-harm, exploring the roles of community, healthy patterns, and acceptance of dualities. Glasgow is also well-known for her other novels, including You'd Be Home Now (2021) and How to... Read Girl in Pieces Summary

Girl, Interrupted

by Susanna Kaysen

Publication year 1993

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Mental Health, The Past, Femininity, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Death, Memory, Science & Technology

Tags Depression & Suicide, Mental Illness, Psychology, Gender & Feminism, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Health, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction, Psychology, Classic Fiction, Biography

Susanna Kaysen’s 1993, Girl, Interrupted, is a memoir that explores Kaysen’s time as a teenage psychiatric patient in McLean Hospital in the late 1960s. Kaysen explores the murky definitions of mental health and illness, as she recounters her experience of being diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and makes compelling arguments about the subjective nature of personality, behavior, and disorder. Girl, Interrupted is a bestselling book and was adapted into the 1999 film starring Winona Ryder... Read Girl, Interrupted Summary

Go Ask Alice

by Beatrice Sparks

Publication year 1971

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Shame & Pride, Coming of Age, Family, Friendship, Self Discovery, Community, Justice, Truth & Lies

Tags Depression & Suicide, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Psychology, Psychology, Mental Illness, Classic Fiction

Initially advertised as an anonymous, true story of a teenage girl, Go Ask Alice (1971) by Beatrice Sparks is an epistolary novel, or a fictional work structured as a diary. The diary entries chronicle two years of a teen girl’s experience with social acceptance, family relationships, and drugs—primarily marijuana, LSD, and amphetamines. Although Beatrice Sparks initially claimed to be the diary’s editor, considerable evidence suggests that she’s the sole author of the fictional work. Nevertheless... Read Go Ask Alice Summary

Goodbye Days

by Jeff Zentner

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Grief, Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Grief & Death, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness

Goodbye Days is a young adult novel by Jeff Zentner. Published in 2017, it follows a teenage boy, Carver Briggs, who is grappling with the deaths of his three best friends. All three boys died in a car crash on their way to pick up Carver from work. Carver’s survivor’s guilt is exacerbated by the fact that he’s facing a possible criminal investigation for “negligent homicide” for his supposed role in the accident. Carver texted... Read Goodbye Days Summary

Goodbye, Vitamin

by Rachel Khong

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Mental Health, Memory, Forgiveness

Tags Humor, Health, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness

Goodbye, Vitamin is Asian American author Rachel Khong’s debut novel. Khong, whose grandmother had Alzheimer’s disease, explores how Alzheimer’s disease affects a family in this work of literary fiction. Written as a series of diary entries, Khong’s protagonist, Ruth Young, meditates on memory, forgiveness, and the challenges inherent in familial relationships as she navigates an adulthood that is not turning out as planned.Published in 2017, Goodbye, Vitamin received positive reviews and was named one of... Read Goodbye, Vitamin Summary