Helpful novels about depression/anxiety/… > Likes and Comments

I’m looking for inspiring novels that explore mental health. Traditional self-help books don’t really work for me, since I don’t find them very engaging. I recently read Milk Fed, which follows a girl with an eating disorder, and I found it surprisingly therapeutic and helpful. On the other hand, The Midnight Library didn’t resonate with me at all — I couldn’t connect with the main character or her form of depression.

I can totally relate with self-help not working.
Here's what i think you would like: "Love letters to the dead, I'll give you the sun, The sky is everywhere".
I was in search for something similar a few years back and they sufficed for me.
The Pisces is another novel that I found very likable but not many people like it.

This is the ASIN code of a short story I wrote: B0DPXKKJZT
I first hand know mental health: what's in there is reality.
Read the sample, If you like it I can send it over via mail for free (you can always buy it afterwards if you will have find it useful).
Remember that mental health is not a structure, is a chain reaction.
portato.scarti.1x@icloud.com

Elena wrote: "I’m looking for inspiring novels that explore mental health. Traditional self-help books don’t really work for me, since I don’t find them very engaging. I recently read Milk Fed, which follows a g..."

Hi Elena! I wrote one of those! Epic Tiny Victories will come out on 1/1/26. You can go here to check out Chapter 1! https://www.colinryanspeaks.com/epict...

mine is about the PTSD first responders face, the first book starts down that road. Soul Tire C. J. Landry

I really relate to this. Fiction often feels more healing than self-help because you’re living inside someone’s experience rather than being told how to feel. If Milk Fed resonated with you but The Midnight Library didn’t, it makes total sense, connection to the character matters more than the theme itself.

Alongside novels, you might also find it helpful to have a quiet space to process your own thoughts and emotions. I’m sharing a link to a grief journal that’s gentle and reflective, not clinical — it’s helped many people who prefer emotional storytelling over traditional self-help: