May is Mental Health Awareness month and CBLDF is here to support your well-being with some grown-up comic art and graphic medicine. Whether you’re looking to feel less alone, to understand another’s experience, find hope or find a good laugh, graphic storytelling is an excellent way to stay connected.
Where to get good books?
- Shop your local comic shop! Search our list of partner retailers by state to see how they are still safely serving you.
- Check your library–they may even offer free digital reading options!
- Support independent bookstores at BookShop.org
- Lastly, check for digital availability through Comixology or Kindle
Adult Reads-on the lighter side
It’s Your Weirdness That Makes You Wonderful: A Self-Acceptance Prompt Journal
By Kate Allen
In this interactive journal you are free to explore and express your wonderful self, getting good guidance along the way.
Just Peachy
By Holly Chisholm
Cute pictures, serious subjects! A collection of comics about living with depression and anxiety.
It’s All Absolutely Fine
By Ruby Elliot
With simple art and dark wit, this collection tackles serious mental health issues with honest humor.
Super Chill:A Year of Living Anxiously
By Adam Ellis
A collection of comic panels exploring life as an anxious man.
How to Be Perfectly Unhappy
By Matthew Inman
From The Oatmeal comes a cheeky look at the serious art of being happy with who you are and what you do.
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened
By Allie Brosh
Collecting from her popular webcomic and blog, this book explores depression and other life challenges.
Adult Reads–on the serious side
Taking Turns: Stories from Hiv/AIDS Care Unit 371
By MK Czerwiec
Autobiography and oral histories combine to honor the healthcare providers, patients, and loved ones at an HIV/AIDS crisis Care Unit in the early nineties.
Ink in Water: An Illustrated Memoir (Or, How I Kicked Anorexia’s Ass and Embraced Body Positivity)
By Lacy J. Davis and Jim Kettner
A raw memoir of strength and courage against an eating disorder and negative body image.
Rock Steady: Brilliant Advice From My Bipolar Life
By Ellen Fornay
An illustrated handbook chock full of real advice for maintaining mental health, particularly in the realm of mood disorders.
Rosalie Lightning: A Graphic Memoir
Tom Hart
An honest, heart-wrenching, but ultimately healing and hopeful memoir about the loss of a child.
Stitches: A Memoir
By David Small
Intense and dark, this memoir reveals a difficult path through childhood trauma to eventual triumph.
Dear Scarlet: The Story of My Postpartum Depression
By Teresa Wong
A personal telling of one woman’s honest and heart wrenching journey into and through PPD.
If you need help now or know someone who does:
www.mentalhealth.gov recommends the following resources:
Emergency Medical Services—911
If the situation is potentially life-threatening, get immediate emergency assistance by calling 911, available 24 hours a day.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or Live Online Chat
If you or someone you know is suicidal or in emotional distress, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Trained crisis workers are available to talk 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your confidential and toll-free call goes to the nearest crisis center in the Lifeline national network. These centers provide crisis counseling and mental health referrals.
SAMHSA Treatment Referral Helpline, 1-877-SAMHSA7 (1-877-726-4727)
Get general information on mental health and locate treatment services in your area. Speak to a live person, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST.
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