Recommendations: Mental Health

Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall

( agoraphobia / obsessive-compulsive disorder / self-harm )

For an incredibly close, real look at life with various anxiety disorders, this is the book for you. Even with a lighter note of friendship and budding romance throughout this still manages to pack a punch and shed light on the reality of mental health. Tentatively hopeful with more of a focus on recovery than triggering scenes.

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer

( schizophrenia / grief / munchausen syndrome by proxy )

A slightly more mature read, but by no means complicated or inaccessible. Written by someone with a history of mental health nursing, this is a beautiful depiction of how the loss of a loved one can impact your own health. Sensitive yet still realistic, this spends a lot of time looking at two brothers and how their lives change.

After the Fire by Will Hill

( post-traumatic stress disorder )

Although not apparently obvious which mental health issues are present in this book, it is obvious that the children from inside The Fence have some. Moonbeam's time inside has left her damaged, and this follows her on a journey of acceptance and healing. Set heavily in a clinical facility that looks at her memories and tries to unpick them, there are mentions of more sensitive topics including rape, imprisonment, and gun violence.