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.

No Longer Human

by Osamu Dazai

Publication year 1948

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loneliness, Mental Health, Guilt, Love

Tags Japanese Literature, Depression & Suicide, Realistic Fiction, Mental Illness, Asian Literature, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

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OCDaniel

by Wesley King

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness

OCDaniel (2016), a young adult novel by American author Wesley King, follows Daniel Leigh, a teenager with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), who struggles with the symptoms of his condition along with his social rejection for being odd. More than anything else, Daniel wants to be “normal” and to meet the expectations of his father. Daniel’s world changes when he befriends Sara Malvern, a selectively mute girl known to the school as “Psycho Sara.” Daniel and Sara embark... Read OCDaniel Summary

On Dreams

by Sigmund Freud

Publication year 1901

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Memory, Shame & Pride, Mental Health

Tags Psychology, Philosophy, Love & Sexuality, Mental Illness, Education, Education, Science & Nature, French Literature, Psychology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

by Ken Kesey

Publication year 1962

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags American Literature, Classic Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Mental Illness, Trauma & Abuse, Health, Relationships, Education, Education, Psychology, Psychology

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a historical fiction novel by Ken Kesey, published in 1962. Kesey drew on his experiences working in a veterans’ hospital to develop a critique of then-current psychiatric practices. The novel’s central conflict between a domineering nurse and an unruly patient can also be read as an allegory for the emerging culture wars of the 1960s. The novel was adapted into a Broadway play one year after its publication... Read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Summary

Only the Beautiful

by Susan Meissner

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Mothers, Daughters & Sons, Perseverance, Regret, Coming of Age, Politics & Government, War, Justice, Family

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Military & War, World History, Mental Illness

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Opening Skinner's Box

by Lauren Slater

Publication year 2004

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Truth & Lies

Tags Education, Education, Science & Nature, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Mental Illness, Health

Opening Skinner’s Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century by Lauren Slater is a work of narrative non-fiction published in 2004 by W.W. Norton & Company. Slater, an American psychotherapist, examines 10 landmark psychological experiments—from B.F. Skinner’s infamous boxes to Harry Harlow’s primates—and, in doing so, she explores larger philosophical questions related to human freedom, the limits of science, and truth in art.Slater provides biographical details of the scientists behind each landmark experiment. She... Read Opening Skinner's Box Summary

Ordinary Hazards

by Nikki Grimes

Publication year 2019

Genre Memoir in Verse, Nonfiction

Themes Literature, Childhood & Youth, Family, Mental Health, Perseverance, Race, Coming of Age, Mothers, Self Discovery, Equality, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Biography, Mental Illness

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Orlando Furioso

by Ludovico Ariosto

Publication year 1532

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Love, Revenge, Gender Identity, War, Good & Evil, Fate, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Wins & Losses, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Narrative Poem, Gender & Feminism, European History, Love & Sexuality, Military & War, Italian Literature, Renaissance, Mental Illness, Medieval, World History, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

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Petey

by Ben Mikaelsen

Publication year 1998

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Disability, Hope, Perseverance, Love, Loneliness

Tags Historical Fiction, Disability, Mental Illness, Health, Religion & Spirituality, Bullying, Post-War Era, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, World History

Petey is middle grade novel written by Ben Mikaelsen and published in 1998. Mikaelsen is the author of 10 novels for young adults and the winner of several awards for his work. Petey is dedicated to and based on the life of Clyde Cothern, a Montana man with cerebral palsy who was misdiagnosed as intellectually disabled and confined to Montana State Hospital in the 1920s. Mikaelsen and Cothern shared a close personal friendship, and while... Read Petey Summary

Picture Us in the Light

by Kelly Loy Gilbert

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Grief, Guilt, Hope, Self Discovery, Community, Art, Truth & Lies, Friendship

Tags Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ+, Coming of Age, Arts & Culture, Depression & Suicide, Grief & Death, Mental Illness, Modern Classic Fiction

Picture Us in the Light is a young adult novel written by Kelly Loy Gilbert and published in 2018 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Gilbert is the author of three young adult novels, all of which focus on the young Asian American experience. Picture Us in the Light is written in the first-person perspective of protagonist Danny Cheng, but Gilbert includes flashbacks to China to connect Danny to a past his parents have... Read Picture Us in the Light Summary

Queenie

by Candice Carty-Williams

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Family, Self Discovery, Conflict, Perseverance, Race, Sexual Identity, Love, Apathy

Tags Gender & Feminism, Race & Racism, Relationships, Love & Sexuality, Trauma & Abuse, Coming of Age, Classic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness

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Reality Boy

by A.S. King

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Mental Illness

Reality Boy (2013) is a young adult novel by American writer A.S. King. Told through the first-person perspective of Gerald Faust, a teenage boy who grapples with trauma, the narrative explores Gerald’s childhood abuse and the public spotlight which facilitated it when his family is selected for a reality television series. Gerald’s account takes place during his teenage years and features chapters that flash back to the filming of the series.Plot SummaryWhen Gerald Faust was... Read Reality Boy Summary

Reasons to Stay Alive

by Matt Haig

Publication year 2015

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Mental Health, Disability, Masculinity, Fear, Self Discovery, Death, Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Courage

Tags Self-Improvement, Psychology, Health, Depression & Suicide, Inspirational, Mental Illness, Psychology, Biography

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