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I’ve struggled with Depression for most of my adult life and have recently made a resolution to be more open about it for two reasons: 1) to help others experiencing the same things, and 2) to open a dialogue and reduce the stigma associated with it. On my journey, I’ve learned to turn to books as a source of solace and escape. Here are seven books I recommend if you’re going through [what I like to call] an emotional downswing. 1) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safron Foer
“Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I'm not living.” Oskar’s pain, confusion, and despair as he desperately tries to understand the loss of his father made me feel so much less alone as I desperately tried not to buckle under the weight of my depression. This is a great story of ‘it’s going to get worse before it gets better’ and his struggle to deal with his loss was a great aid to me when I needed it most. 2) The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.” Charlie very literally is dealing with depression and post-tramatic stress in this book. I’m not sure if it’s intentional, but I feel like I view the world in exactly the same way Charlie does, so reading this book is always very therapeutic to me. Though the story takes place while the characters are in high school, they deal with a lot of things that I have dealt with in my adult life: loss of a friend via suicide, drugs, self-harm, sexual assault. Reading through Charlie’s story while I was working through my depression truly made me feel like I wasn’t so alone after all. 3) The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern
“You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift.” Morganstern’s story of magic, mystery, love, passion, and fate is like poetic food for my soul. Characters who are destined to quarrel end up falling in love. Arenas meant to destroy start to create harmony. The Night Circus is perhaps the most poetic prose fiction I’ve ever read and the optimism and the magic inspires me to create rather than destruct. 4) The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
“Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it.” There’s a special place in my heart for Harry. Besides the nostalgia, the entire series is a metaphor for depression. JK Rowling herself was depressed while she wrote the third book, and even created the Dementors as a manifestation of her depression. Harry always serves as a reminder for me to be good, and kind, and brave to make it through whatever ails me. I turn to Harry Potter often to find comfort, advice, and solace. 5) Yes, Please by Amy Poehler
“Watching great people do what you love is a good way to start learning how to do it yourself.” Amy Poehler’s soul shines out of this book. Her positive attitude and her love of family and career make it difficult for me to feel down about myself. She’s so open and lovely in her memoir and it just warms my soul. She seems like an absolute gem, and it’s almost as if she is saying, “You can get through this; I’m rooting for you!” If you haven’t read it, I HIGHLY recommend you do. 6) Annapurna by Shar White
“It’s just that I see it as a fitting purgatory on earth for me, see. A direct reflection of all my sins, which have brought me here and on which I am now required to sit and ponder before I am allowed to die. So why clean the counters?” This play deals with lost love, broken marriage and an event that changed their lives forever; which one of them doesn’t even remember. It is a fitting and poetic allegory for purgatory and atoning for the things we did and didn’t do that have caused pain to ourselves and others. Most importantly it reminds me that even if it absolutely seems like it might be, it’s never ever too late to say, “I’m sorry.”
7) The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
“The sad truth is the truth is sad.” The tale of the three Baudelaire siblings is one of my favorite pieces of literature. While it is a long, sad journey, I find comfort in the fact that the story is unapologetic-ally unfortunate. There is no happy ending in the books, and sometimes in life there won’t be one either and that’s OK. I appreciate the dark humor and the sadness. I understand it. I’ve never been exactly where the Baudelaire children are, but I understand the feeling that nothing can or will ever go your way. And that’s OK. Because sometimes you just have to feel sad for a while before it will start to get better.