Book Suggestions for Mental Health Awareness Week

© https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, an annual initiative which seeks to raise awareness of mental health through initiating conversation surrounding the topic. As mental well-being is becoming an increasingly prominent topic in media, society’s understanding of the many different individual nuances, variations and manifestations of mental health has grown hugely. Through encouraging people to discuss, explore, and learn about mental well-being, charities hope to alter the way in which people think about mental illness, and to help those struggling undiagnosed by providing them with the confidence to seek help.

In the last century, the representation of mental health in the arts has evolved with the development of the science and understanding of mental illness. Literature has been instrumental in this change, providing insights into the lives of those struggling with their mental health. In honour of this, here is a list of books that have challenged assumptions regarding mental health. King Lear, The Bell Jar, or The Yellow Wallpaper seem too obvious, so included in this list are texts which are slightly less well known. These are books that have attempted to alter the ways in which different aspects of mental illness were contemporarily viewed. They provide an insight for those who have not yet been exposed to or have been unable to fully comprehend mental health as an important part of general well-being.

NB: This is not a list of self-help books, it is a list of books that deal with a host of different mental illnesses over the last few centuries. If you are struggling, please do not be afraid to talk to someone. Talk to a friend or member of your family, call Samaritans on 116 123 (UK), or seek professional help. The taboo of talking about mental health must end.

Villette, Charlotte Bronte, 1853

The Victorian era is known for the myriad of literature dealing with female hysteria and madness (Miss Havisham in Great Expectations, Bertha Mason in Jane Eyre, the nameless sufferer in The Yellow Wallpaper), so the list would be incomplete without a text from this era. Bronte’s lesser known, semi-autobiographical book, Villette, deals with mental health in a different way to many typical Victorian novels. The extent of psychological exploration in Villette feels immensely modern. The protagonist, Lucy Snowe, suffers from crippling anxiety, undiagnosed anorexia nervosa, and agonising loneliness, all of which leave her mentally and physically unstable. At times she attempts to express her experiences, but constantly finds vocalising her feelings an impossible task, inevitably worsening her condition. An undisclosed traumatic incident in her past combined with Lucy’s unwavering desire for independence and respect result in readerly empathy for a woman seeking comfort and friendship in a society determined to shun and exclude her. In portraying Lucy’s determination to remain true to herself and her refusal not to be subsumed into a society that constantly seeks to undermine her intelligence, her religious beliefs, and her looks, Bronte provides a shockingly modern commentary on the limitations of a society that places value purely on clinical observation and exteriority. Villette is a story in which mental struggles are tackled with perseverance, belief, friendship, and self-respect.

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks, 1985

This book, written by neurologist Oliver Sacks, is a collection of histories about his past patients and their experiences. The book has 24 essays in total, and is divided into four sections, each dealing with a certain aspect of brain function. Sacks tells the stories of patients who have experienced a variety of neurological disorders. The titular story is the most famous one, about a man with visual agnosia, who can no longer recognise familiar faces or common household objects. Sacks writes about intellectual disabilities, disorders of the mind, and perceptual aberrations with a perfect combination of scientific accuracy, retrospective wit, and deeply sympathetic humanity. When reading his accounts, one can truly attempt to image the pain and confusion felt by those who have been so severely neurologically impaired.

An Unquiet Mind - A Memoir of Moods and Madness, Kay Redfield Jamison, 1995

An Unquiet Mind is a memoir by psychiatrist Kay Redfield Jamison, who has suffered from manic depression and bipolar disorder for most of her life. Although perhaps a slower read than the works of fiction on this list, Jamieson’s book provides insight into the reality of mental illness. She discusses everything from professional opinions and anonymous patients she has treated, to detailed accounts of her own episodes and experiences, and the ways in which her mental health has impacted her familial, professional and romantic relationships. The most strikingly fascinating part of this text is the struggle Jamieson faces between the rational and irrational mind. There is a clear dissonance between her life as a clinical professional, and as a suffering patient. This, in itself, illustrates the many levels of mental illness: there is no single experience, it is an equivocal subject that differs for every individual. It can be a painful, emotional, and even demoralising read for some, particularly those who have faced similar experiences, but for those seeking a deeper understanding of manic depression, An Unquiet Mind can undoubtedly be seen as one of the most important books in attempting to understand bipolar disorder.

White Teeth, Zadie Smith, 1999

Zadie Smith’s debut novel White Teeth, about two friends, Samad Iqbal and Archie Jones and their families living in London, touches on the subtleties of mental health and the differing ways in which people of all ages, ethnicities and personalities can suffer. From Archie’s suicide attempt at the beginning of the novel, to Clara’s familial, religious and romantic struggles, and Samad's and Archie's varying forms of post traumatic stress, Zadie Smith effectively strikes a balance between providing the topics with the respect they deserve, whilst maintaining a lighthearted, hopeful, and comedic tone. Despite not being as overtly focused on mental health, White Teeth provides an insight into the individual nuances, variations, and distinctions of the mind.

The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, Brady Udall, 2001

The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint is a novel that masterfully manages to combine pain, sorrow, and devastation with comedy and hope. Udall creates an immersive world about the physical and mental struggles of a young child, Edgar. Against all odds, Edgar survives a horrific accident and three-month long coma. What follows is a string of events involving physical rehabilitation, schoolyard bullying, substance abuse, emotional manipulation, and loss, all of which, to any normal person, would result in a severe mental breakdown - but not for Edgar. Although potentially verging on the suggestion that simply a positive outlook and hopeful disposition can fend off mental illness, Udall manages to avoid this danger by creating an almost preternatural world. His depiction of Edgar and his traumatic experiences evoke empathy from the reader, allowing them to suspend any doubts about the believability of the text. Instead, Edgar’s obsessive desire to improve the lives of others and to prove himself worthy of belonging in the world creates a heart-warming tale of a determined, well-meaning child who believes there is something more than the life he has experienced so far.

The Other Side of You, Salley Vickers, 2003

Salley Vickers began her career as a psychotherapist, and her novel The Other Side of You clearly reflects her interest in the mind and the way it works. The Other Side of You shows this marriage between the arts and psychology. The story begins with the protagonist, Elizabeth Cruickshanks, attending a therapy session with Dr David McBride after a failed suicide attempt.

Their mutual appreciation of art, specifically for Caravaggio, forms the basis of their connection, providing Elizabeth with the confidence to begin divulging her story. Weaving both Elizabeth’s and David’s personal histories into the narrative, Vickers effectively demonstrates the many differing individual reactions to traumatic events, from avoidance, to denial, to depression. Perhaps most significant is the way in which Vickers portrays the benefits of therapy and the ‘talking cure’. As Elizabeth talks through her experiences, she eventually begins to comprehend and accept the pain she has suffered, and in listening, David begins to do the same in relation to his own past. The Other Side of You quite literally explores the many different sides of the mind, and explores therapy as a beneficial tool in aiding acceptance of experiences and emotions, and potentially alleviating mental suffering.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman, 2017

Gail Honeyman’s debut novel was the hit bestseller of 2017, and for good reason! Honeyman provides readers with an insight into the life of a figure who most people can recognise, and may often have ignored, looked down upon, or even mocked. Eleanor Oliphant is the quiet, slightly unusual, disciplined co-worker who keeps to herself and is rarely ever seen out of the office. The eponymous protagonist portrays the life of a woman who, similar to Lucy Snowe in Villette, suffers a traumatic event that is only hinted at until the end of the novel. She has no friends, and her only human contact outside of work is through a weekly phone call with her mother and the kind man at her local corner shop who provides her, albeit reluctantly, with two litres of glens which she consumes, alone, every weekend. Enter Raymond, an unassuming and refreshingly genuine new employee at Eleanor’s work, who shows just how important friendship is, and just how far a little bit of kindness can go. This novel couldn’t have been more timely with the topic of loneliness has become increasingly relevant in our society. In 2017, the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness reported that more than nine million people in the UK feel lonely. Honeyman creates an all-too-relatable world, with a narrative full of emotion, warmth and hope - and a great twist at the end, too! (Full review of this novel is coming soon)