Beyond The Surface discussion

Feel free to introduce yourselves and converse freely here! I can't wait to get to know everyone a little better.

My name is Tiana Wolfe and I am the host of the Beyond The Surface book club here on Goodreads. I started reading for fun in 5th grade with Twilight and have never turned back since. I love all things bookish and all things musical and I am a firm believer that more animal companions should be included in books.

Mental health awareness is important to me because it is something I believe should be discussed freely and with no judgements. Because their are so many people out their silently suffering with mental health issues feeling like they can't discuss it with anyone. I wanted this to be a place where the stigma of mental illness lessened and where we could all be able to help each other while learning more about various mental illnesses through reading books.

Hi Tiana! Thanks for the invite- looking forward to seeing what you have in store for us! My name is Isabella I'm a newbie blogger and recent college grad who spends all her free time reading! Mental health awareness is very important to me because it is something that has affected me and my family directly. I hope we can all learn a little more about ourselves and others in this group!

Hello Tiana
You be interested in my book, which looks a mental illness (bipolar) after a childhood of being a replacement for my Thalidomide sister. It is very readable.

Hi Tiana, thank you for inviting me, if you hadn't made this group I would have done it. Would it be a good idea to do a readathon grom 2-8 October, because of the MIAW?
And as for the introduction. Hello everyone, my name is Debbie and I have been wanting to read more mental health books and even more since I have been struggling with my own mental health. And I will be starting with this group from September, because I have planned so many books to read in August and I am on a book buying ban for the rest of August.
I am really looking forward to be reading more books and discuss them.

Hi Tiana, awesome group idea. I'm interested in reading more mental health related books and hope to get some good suggestions and discussions out of this group, haha.
And hello everybody, I'm Maxine and I'm a pre-vet student and have had my nose in one book or another for as long as I can remember. I look forward to chatting with you all!

Isabella wrote: "Hi Tiana! Thanks for the invite- looking forward to seeing what you have in store for us! My name is Isabella I'm a newbie blogger and recent college grad who spends all her free time reading! Ment..."

Hi Isabella! Thanks for joining! I'm looking forward to reading along with you and everyone else for the future! Can you send me a link to your blog? I would love to check it out if I haven't already.

Karen wrote: "Hello Tiana
You be interested in my book, which looks a mental illness (bipolar) after a childhood of being a replacement for my Thalidomide sister. It is very readable."

I will definitely look into this for a future book of the Month! It sounds like a very personal and powerful read that would be a perfect spark for great discussion. I will let you know when I decide to include it!

Debbie wrote: "Hi Tiana, thank you for inviting me, if you hadn't made this group I would have done it. Would it be a good idea to do a readathon grom 2-8 October, because of the MIAW?
And as for the introductio..."

Hello Debbie! A readathon for that week in October is a fabulous idea! I will definitely see what I can create for that week as a part of this book club. Let me know if you have any ideas!

Maxine wrote: "Hi Tiana, awesome group idea. I'm interested in reading more mental health related books and hope to get some good suggestions and discussions out of this group, haha.
And hello everybody, I'm Maxi..."

Hello Maxine! So glad to have you join us! I look forward to reading along with you and discussing mental health in the future!

Hey Tiana; this book club is so what I need. Thank you for creating this community-- truly god's work.

I'm Cal. I have a lot of issues. Mainly agoraphobia. I'm on medication but I don't leave the house more than 2x a week, at most.

You can probably see why I read. Being home 5 days a week can be a blessing, bc books but also a curse bc I'm so mentally ill and alone and it's tough bc I don't talk to anybody

I'm currently reading two very topical books for this book club!:
All the Bright Places and Everything, Everything.

Cal wrote: "Hey Tiana; this book club is so what I need. Thank you for creating this community-- truly god's work.

I'm Cal. I have a lot of issues. Mainly agoraphobia. I'm on medication but I don't leave the..."

Hello Cal! I'm happy you joined this group! I'm really intrigued by All the Bright Places and Everything Everything and I will think about them for a future book of the month! I'm sorry to hear about your mental illness, but I hope you do find some solace and comfort in this group. I don't really know all that much about agoraphobia, but I hope that through this club I can gain a better awareness of it as well as a better understanding. I look forward to reading along with you as well as discussing books together in the future!

Hi, I'm Kelly :) I'm a student and bookworm.

Thanks for inviting me! I look forward to talking with you guys!

Kelly wrote: "Hi, I'm Kelly :) I'm a student and bookworm.

Thanks for inviting me! I look forward to talking with you guys!"


Hello Kelly!!! I'm happy to have you join us. I'm excited to read along with you and to hearing your thoughts on our monthly reads!

Tiana wrote: "Debbie wrote: "Hi Tiana, thank you for inviting me, if you hadn't made this group I would have done it. Would it be a good idea to do a readathon grom 2-8 October, because of the MIAW?
And as for ..."

Thank you for considering it. I have been thinking for some challenges, but Mental Health can be very personal so I didn't come up with much. As for challenges I have right now: a group book, a book about a mental illness you haven't read from before.
And I just saw on the NAMI site that it is from 1-7 October instead of 2-8 (sorry I got it wrong). And if you need any help with creating it, just let me know, I would love to help.

Hey! I'm Indy and I helped start this book club, but for some dumb reason forgot to add myself to the goodreads group. (I'm very busy.) I'm currently working through a million assignments and assessments because... high school. Yay.
I'm really hoping that this group will help me to delve deeper into mental illness and to really understand and sympathise with people who are struggling with mental health, so I can not only help myself, but help others.