I've got a post over at The Crowe's Nest (my agent's blog) about the connection between reading and mental health. As a college adjunct who teaches literature, I see the way reading gives students a chance to talk about mental health -- both as a part of stories and as part of their own lives -- in a productive way.
Please check it out and comment! Thanks!
This was a really, really amazing post. What you wrote reflected how I thought about your new book, which I literally finished it a few minutes ago. I can relate in so many ways to James, and the lines are so thought provoking--it's hard to describe! I can't wait to get my hands on the finished copy, and I want to start carrying it around like James carries Whitman. James and I share a lot (same age, depression, and other things in some way or another), and even though he's fiction I feel so much better reading your book. I so badly want to comment more, but I can't form thoughts to words well....
ReplyDeleteMy favorite quote from your book: "It's like they don't believe my brain works differently from theirs."
P.S.: I laughed a ton while reading your book, too :) I would quote from it, but I don't want to spoil it for people who haven't read the book!
Karen, thanks so much for your note here. Makes me feel great to hear that DR. BIRD found a perfect reader. Even if James is fiction, the fact that he feels real to you (and to me, too) is so important.
DeleteI think you should find a way to create a pocket in your jacket that will fit the book. haha I've definitely carried books around to the point of their near disintegration!
Also: your favorite line is one of the most crucial lines. and it originally said something different. The original was "It's like they don't understand my brain is broken." Which always felt wrong to me but I couldn't figure out why. Then during one of the hundreds of times I read that section I realized: it's not that James thinks his brain is broken; that suggests there's a brain that's normal and also that he needs to be fixed. He certainly doesn't have role models for mental health in his parents, so when I realized that the line changed.
I'm glad the book made you laugh, too. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one! haha