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12 Books About Mental Health Everybody Should Read
Help to understand yours a little better.
When the world feels like a confusing place, seek solace in books. Here, The Reading Agency, a charity that believes in tackling life’s big challenges through the proven power of reading, have pulled together a list of 12 books about mental health that should help you to understand yours a little better.
We're All Mad Here: The No-Nonsense Guide to Living with Social Anxiety by Claire Eastham
Covering everything from surviving university and the workplace through to social media, parties and dates, this guide details everything the author has learned through her experiences of living with anxiety.
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The Outrun by Amy Liptrot
Returning to Orkney following a battle with alcoholism in London, Amy Liptrot chronicles her journey with addiction, while perfectly capturing the powerful isolated beauty of her surroundings.
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What a Time to be Alone: The Slumflower's guide to why you are already enough by Chidera Eggerue
Clear, useful advice on self-esteem, self-care and empowerment from award-winning blogger 'The Slumflower', aka Chidera Eggerue. The beautiful design lets Eggerue’s motivational tips burst out of the page.
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The Recovery Letters edited by James Withey and Olivia Sagan
A heartfelt collection of letters written by people recovering from depression, addressed to 'Dear You'. Providing hope, support and valuable insight for anyone touched by depression.
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Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh
Cartoonist Allie Brosh illustrates her everyday life and journey with depression in this hilarious, honest and relatable book. Equal parts moving and silly, it’s easy to see why Brosh is a viral internet sensation.
BUY NOW £6.99, Amazon
Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world by Mark Williams and Danny Penman
Featuring downloadable audio meditations, this seminal book developed by leading mindfulness experts will suit even the most hectic life; from one-minute practices to a complete 8-week guide.
BUY NOW £4.99, Amazon
The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur
Trailblazing Instapoet Rupi Kaur explores love, despair and mental health with trademark beauty and economy of language in this bestselling collection.
BUY NOW £6.99, Amazon
A Manual for Heartache by Cathy Rentzenbrink
Cathy Rentzenbrink draws on her own experiences of tragedy in this comforting and inspiring book that details how to cope with the most difficult times in life. A vital addition to everyone’s emotional toolkit.
BUY NOW £4.74, Amazon
Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig
After experiencing years of anxiety and panic attacks, Matt Haig is on a mission to answer the biggest questions life has thrown at him: How can we stay sane on a planet that makes us mad? How do we stay human in a technological world? How do we feel happy when we are encouraged to be anxious?
BUY NOW £4.00, Amazon
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The novel is partially based on Plath's own life and her descent into mental illness and has become a modern classic. It follows Esther's spiral into serious depression as she grapples with difficult relationships and a society which refuses to take her aspirations seriously.
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Letter To My Daughter by Maya Angelou
This beautiful collection mixing advice, memoir and poetry is dedicated to the daughter Angelou never had, and is filled with her profound wisdom on how to live well.
BUY NOW £5.99, Amazon
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
A heartfelt depiction of the relationship between Mitch Albom and his college professor Morrie Schwartz. The novel is a magical chronicle of their time together in the last few months of Morrie’s life, and captures the wisdom that he shares with his friend.
BUY NOW £5.99, Amazon
For further support with mental health, The Reading Agency’s wellbeing programme Reading Well provides quality-assured information and advice, recommended by health experts and people living with mental health needs.
Dusty Baxter-Wright is an award-winning journalist and the Entertainment and Lifestyle Director at Cosmopolitan, having previously worked at Sugarscape. She was named one of PPA’s 30 Under 30 for her work covering pop culture, careers, interiors and travel, and oversees the site’s Entertainment and Lifestyle strategy across print, digital and video. As a journalist for the best part of a decade, she has interviewed everyone from Louis Theroux and Channing Tatum to Margot Robbie and Ncuti Gatwa, while she has also spoken on Times Radio and BBC Radio. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram here.
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