Trigger Warning: This article and the books within it contain mentions of mental illness, suicide, infant death, child abuse, and child sex trafficking. Please exercise personal care while reading.
The stigma around mental health, unfortunately, keeps many from seeking the help they need. When caught in the throes of trauma, it is all too easy to feel alone in your pain. We here at Bookstr know that no book is a substitute for therapy, but they can be the perfect supplement to professional help. When others are courageous enough to share their tales of hardship, it allows us to find community and hope when we need it most.
In honor of this vulnerability, this week’s Three to Read offers three memoirs that discuss and overcome personal mental health struggles.
HOT PICK
The Inherited Mind: A Story of Family, Hope, and the Genetics of Mental Illness by James Longman
SYNOPSIS:
In The Inherited Mind, ABC News correspondent James Longman investigates the roots of mental illness and trauma. When he was a child, his father, who was diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia, died by suicide. As Longman entered adulthood, he began to struggle with depression and sought an answer to its cause. Through a combination of expert interviews and personal accounts, Longman reflects on his fractured past and discovers how much of our mental illness is genetic. More importantly, he also examines how to persevere through these inherited challenges.
WHY:
James Longman’s intriguing mix of hard journalism and vulnerable stories makes The Inherited Mind the perfect mental health companion. Readers can learn from the scientific research while also embracing the relatability of Longman’s familial struggles.
COFFEE SHOP READ
Firstborn by Lauren Christensen
SYNOPSIS:
Pregnancy should be a happy time for an expectant mother, but unfortunately, not everyone is so lucky. Firstborn details author Lauren Christensen’s first pregnancy and the world-shattering news that her baby, Simone, would die before birth. When faced with an unimaginable tragedy, Christensen begins to contend with death and the aching love that transcends human existence.
WHY:
Lauren Christensen’s delicate writing untangles the knot of love and grief that lives inside of us all. Her brave account of maternal mental health crises reaches out to other women with an open heart that says, “You are not alone.”
DARK HORSE
This Happened to Me: A Reckoning by Kate Price
SYNOPSIS:
When Kate Price escaped her small Appalachian town, she thought she had left the past behind forever. But the ghosts of generational trauma find us all, in time. Despite her impressive academic successes — achieving a master’s degree and PhD — Price was haunted by pangs of grief and confusing childhood flashbacks. In This Happened to Me, Price recounts her journey to heal her past. Starting with trauma specialist Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, Kate Price accesses her hidden childhood memories and comes to the horrifying conclusion that she had not only been abused by her father but trafficked by him, as well. Price spends the next ten years seeking and eventually finding evidence of her father’s crimes.
WHY:
Kate Price’s story was previously told in Dr. Bessel van der Kolk’s acclaimed book The Body Keeps the Score. Since then, Price has become a strong advocate for survivors of child sex trafficking, even influencing the passage of state-level legislation. By sharing her story, Price serves as an inspiring force for change for survivors everywhere.
That concludes this week’s Three to Read! We hope you feel just as inspired by these memoirs as we do. Be sure to tune in next week for more themed book recommendations.
To feel safe at all times is a basic human right; let’s work to make this world physically and mentally safe for everyone.
To get help for mental distress, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (confidential, free, available 24/7/365):
→ Call or text 988
→ Chat at 988lifeline.org
→ Connect with a trained crisis counselor
List of Hotlines in 46 Countries: https://wave-network.org/list-of-helplines-in-46-countries/
National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-422-4453 (4 A CHILD)
To report suspected human trafficking to federal law enforcement:
→ call 1-866-347-2423
To get help from the National Human Trafficking Hotline:
→ call 1-888-373-7888
→ text HELP or INFO to BeFree (233733)
Looking for more inspirational memoirs? Click here.
Check out our Three to Read bookshelf on Bookshop.org for more curated reading lists.
