Mental Health Awareness Month

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May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Books to help and answer questions…..

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, observed at this time each year since 1949, when it was established by Mental Health America. The pandemic has had a profound impact on the mental health of people of all ages. It’s so important to reduce the stigma around mental health struggles so that people are more willing to ask for help.

The following recommended titles offer such help in dealing with trauma, anxiety, depression and provide paths to self-acceptance and resiliency:

 

Hidden Valley Road by Robert KolkerHIDDEN VALLEY ROAD: INSIDE THE MIND OF AN AMERICAN FAMILY by Robert Kolker

Named a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, TIME, Slate, Smithsonian…

The heartrending story of a mid-century American family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science’s great hope in the quest to understand the disease.

 

Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt HaigNOTES ON A NERVOUS PLANET by Matt Haig

A follow-up to Matt Haig’s internationally bestselling memoir, Reasons to Stay Alive, a broader look at how modern life feeds our anxiety, and how to live a better life.

 

 

The Four Agreements (Illustrated Edition) by Don Miguel Ruiz and Janet MillsTHE FOUR AGREEMENTS: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO PERSONAL FREEDOM by Don Miguel Ruiz

In The Four Agreements, bestselling author don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, The Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love.

 

Dusk, Night, Dawn by Anne LamottDUSK, NIGHT, DAWN: ON REVIVAL AND COURAGE by Anne Lamott

In Dusk Night Dawn, Anne Lamott explores the tough questions that many of us grapple with. How can we recapture the confidence we once had as we stumble through the dark times that seem increasingly bleak? As she does in Help, Thanks, Wow and her other bestselling books, Lamott explores the thorny issues of life and faith by breaking them down into manageable, human-sized questions for readers to ponder, in the process showing us how we can amplify life’s small moments of joy by staying open to love and connection.

 

The Poetry Remedy by William SieghartTHE POETRY REMEDY: PRESCRIPTIONS FOR THE HEART, MIND, AND SOUL by William Sieghart

A beautiful collection of curated poems, individually selected to provide the perfect balm for every emotional need: This pocket-sized companion presents the most essential fixes in William Sieghart’s poetic dispensary: those which, again and again, have shown themselves to hit the spot. Whether you are suffering from loneliness, lack of courage, heartbreak, hopelessness, or even an excess of ego; or whether you are seeking hope, comfort, inspiration, or excitement; The Poetry Remedy will provide just the poem you need in that moment.

 

The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE: BRAIN, MIND, AND BODY IN THE HEALING OF TRAUMA by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.

One of the world’s leading experts on traumatic stress explains how trauma affects people, its underlying neurobiology, and the many new treatments that are making it possible for sufferers to move beyond trauma in order to reclaim their lives.

 

 

How Psychology Works by DKHOW PSYCHOLOGY WORKS: THE FACTS VISUALLY EXPLAINED by DK

This indispensable guide describes a wide range of mental health conditions, including bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. It then takes you through treatments, from cognitive behavioral therapy and psychoanalysis to group therapy and art therapy. Discover what makes you, you – the unique blend of nature and nurture that makes up your sense of who you are.

 

Exhale by Richie BostockEXHALE: 40 BREATHWORK EXERCISES TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR CALM, SUPERCHARGE YOUR HEALTH, AND PERFORM AT YOUR BEST by Richie Bostock

In Exhale, Breathwork coach Richie Bostock shares more than forty exercises to use your breath to feel and perform at your best. With strategies researched in the lab, along with practices employed by ancient cultures as well as Navy SEALs, Exhale will show you how to find a solution to many of life’s everyday challenges. Whether you’re hoping to reduce stress and anxiety, increase energy levels, improve sleep, rejuvenate creativity, tackle a hangover, or boost athletic performance, the easy-to-master conscious breathing techniques you’ll learn in Exhale are the ultimate tools to transform your well-being.

 

FOR YOUNGER READERS

 

Man's Search for Meaning: Young Adult Edition by Viktor E. FranklMAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING: YOUNG ADULT EDITION by Viktor E. Frankl; Foreword by John Boyne

A young adult edition of the best-selling classic about the Holocaust and finding meaning in suffering, with a photo insert, a glossary of terms, a chronology of Frankl’s life, and supplementary letters and speeches. These supplementary materials vividly bring Frankl’s story to life.

 

 

Every Body Looking by Candice IlohEVERY BODY LOOKING by Candice Iloh

National Book Award Finalist

When Ada leaves home for her freshman year at a Historically Black College, it’s the first time she’s ever been so far from her family—and the first time that she’s been able to make her own choices and to seek her place in this new world. As she stumbles deeper into the world of dance and explores her sexuality, she also begins to wrestle with her past—her mother’s struggle with addiction, her Nigerian father’s attempts to make a home for her. Ultimately, Ada discovers she needs to brush off the destiny others have chosen for her and claim full ownership of her body and her future.

 

How It Feels to Float by Helena FoxHOW IT FEELS TO FLOAT by Helena Fox

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year; A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best of the Year

Debut author Helena Fox tells a story about love, grief, and inter-generational mental illness, exploring the hard and beautiful places loss can take us, and honoring those who hold us tightly when the current wants to tug us out to sea.

 

Turtles All the Way Down by John GreenTURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN by John Green

“A tender story about learning to cope when the world feels out of control.” —People

John Green, the award-winning, international bestselling author of The Anthropocene Reviewed, presents a story of shattering, unflinching clarity in this brilliant novel of love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship

For more on these and related titles visit the collection Mental Health Awareness

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Her fiction writing has received the Author / Ambassador at Library Journal Self-e Authors, Winner Queen of the West Reader Favorite Award, Amazon Bestseller - Historical, Double finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards in the Mystery and Humorous Categories. Writing humorous cozy mysteries and romantic comedy, Jocie can find humor in most everything, even when she shouldn't. She lives in the Midwest on Dust Bunny Farm with her family.