Mental Health Awareness: Mental Illness in Fiction

Welcome to a new year to continue our discussion on Mental Health Awareness and, hopefully, to reduce stigma. 

To read previous entries in the Mental Health Awareness series, visit the blog author page, opens a new window on our website.

Over the past century or so, many novels have been written about characters living with mental health problems. Some are a little bit outdated. Some are difficult to read because of the subject matter. Some are more accurate than others. Fiction can tell truth in such a way that sometimes you understand it and relate to it better than nonfiction. 

Take a look at this list of novels available from St. Tammany Parish Library that portray what it might be like to live with a mental illness, both now and in decades past. Who knows? Maybe this year we can all find something to read that might help us better understand one another. 

Mental Illness in Fiction








View Full List