"Who better to raise teens' awareness of mental illness and health than the YA authors they admire?" -Booklist (starred review)

"[A] much-needed, enlightening book." -School Library Journal (starred review)

Your favorite YA authors including Ellen Hopkins, Maureen Johnson, and more recount their own experiences with mental health in this raw, real, and powerful collection of essays that explores everything from ADD to PTSD.

Have you ever felt like you just couldn't get out of bed? Not the occasional morning, but every day? Do you find yourself listening to a voice in your head that says "you're not good enough," "not good looking enough," "not thin enough," or "not smart enough"? Have you ever found yourself unable to do homework or pay attention in class unless everything is "just so" on your desk? Everyone has had days like that, but what if you have them every day?

You're not alone. Millions of people are going through similar things. However issues around mental health still tend to be treated as something shrouded in shame or discussed in whispers. It's easier to have a broken bone-something tangible that can be "fixed"-than to have a mental illness, and easier to have a discussion about sex than it is to have one about mental health.

Life Inside My Mind is an anthology of true-life events from writers of this generation, for this generation. These essays tackle everything from neurodiversity to addiction to OCD to PTSD and much more. The goals of this book range from providing a home to those who are feeling alone, awareness to those who are witnessing a friend or family member struggle, and to open the floodgates to conversation.

 

This book has been graded for interest at 14+ years.

There are 320 pages in this book. This book was published 2019 by Simon & Schuster .

Robison Wells is also the author of Blackout, Variant, and Feedback. Variant was a Publishers Weekly Best Book and a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Robison lives in the Rocky Mountains in a house not too far from elk pastures. His wife, Erin, is a better person than he will ever be, and their three kids cause mischief and/or joy. # 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout lives in West Virginia. Maureen Johnson is the best-selling author of 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Devilish, Girl at Sea, The Name of the Star, and Suite Scarlett. Visit Maureen online at www. maureenjohnsonbooks. com Other contributors include E. K. Anderson, J. L. Armentrout, Cyn Balog, Amber Benson, Francesca Lia Block, Crissa Chappell, Sarah Fine, Kelly Fiore, Candace Ganger, Meghan Kelley Hall, Cynthia Hand, Ellen Hopkins, Maureen Johnson, Tara Kelly, Karen Mahoney, Melissa Marr, Kim McCreight, Hannah Moskowitz, Scott Neumyer, Lauren Oliver, Aprilynne Pike, Tom Pollack, Amy Reed, Cindy Rodriquez, Francisco Stork, Wendy Toliver, Rob Wells, Dan Wells, Rachel Wilson, and Sara Zarr. Dan Wells has a Bachelors in English from Brigham Young University where he was the editor at The Leading Edge magazine. He now runs www. timewastersguide. com. You can visit her online and read her blog at www. aprilynnepike. com. Amber Benson is a writer, actress, and director who has written for the stage, screen, books, and comic books. She is perhaps best known for playing the role of "Tara" on the hit television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Amber lives in Los Angeles, California. This is her first children's book. Lauren Oliver is 25 years old, gorgeous and has just graduated from the University of Chicago, where she studied literature and philosophy Jessica Ashley writes under the penname Jessica Burkhart. She is the author of the Unicorn Magic and Canterwood Crest series. Visit her online at JessicaBurkhart. com.