Books and Mental Wellness (Guest Post by Rebecca Weber, Author of Loophole)
Let’s be honest. This world is a lot. The news is a lot. The demands of life are A LOT. As we grow up and mature, we realize mental wellness is a journey, not a destination. We ride the rollercoaster of life knowing it will rise again just around the next curve. But how about kids? How do they deal with the sudden drops and stops?
Speaking from experience, I used books. As a child, I managed undiagnosed
anxiety and OCD by traipsing through the halls of Hogwarts or visiting Camp
Green Lake with Stanley Yelnats. Stories provided me an outlet to escape
reality when reality regularly overloaded my mental health. Books were my
coping strategy, and I’ve carried my love for reading into adulthood.
But what exactly are books to anxiety-ridden kids?
Books are life rafts, buoys, and anchors in a stormy sea.
Books are a whisper of encouragement during the dark night of the soul.
Books are a steadfast friend when your human friend group isn’t on speaking
terms.
Books are candles of hope when you lose power and can’t reach the breaker.
Books are a mirror, illuminating truths about ourselves we didn’t see before.
Books are a safety net for walking life’s emotional tightrope.
So how do we get books into the hands of kids who need them?
First, we recognize that stories take many forms because kids are diverse and
have a variety of needs. We make all kinds of stories easily accessible to the
public: audiobooks, written books, digital books, etc. etc. Libraries are a
jumping off point, but they need advocates. As parents (and authors), we
advocate by surrounding our children with books. Take them frequently to the
library and give them the freedom to explore. Or, you can advocate for books
through an alternate route…discovering little free libraries, giving books as
gifts for birthdays or holidays, prioritizing storytime during little one’s
play dates. The possibilities are endless and, as parents, we’re at the helm
steering the literary ship. Advocate! This is step one.
Step two, we model the importance of reading by doing it ourselves. Or, if
you’re like me, you build an entire persona around books. I’m talking vast
amounts of novels shoved onto your office shelves, witty literary sayings
slapped onto mugs and bags (always on display to the wandering eye), continuous
gushing about books that changed your life and transformed your worldview, and
a level of passion for the written word bordering on obsession. But enough
about me. Back to the kids. Read to them. Hold them close and let them turn the
pages. Talk about illustrations and choose titles that make them laugh. Your
voice carries a weight impervious to the challenges of modern life. Use it to
bring the power of books to life.
Step three, let them lead. To know what books will resonate most with a child,
first we must know the child. When they speak, listen. When they cry, hold
them. When they succeed, clap louder than you ever have before. Not only are
you an advocate for books, but as a parent, you are an advocate for your child.
You too are their safety net, which is a scary thought when adults don’t have
all the answers. But you know where we can go to learn the answers (or at least
get pointed in the right direction)? Books.
Books allow us to live a thousand lives and solve a million problems when we
don’t understand our own self. Stories provide a secure outlet for
self-awareness and teach us how to ask the important questions. Why does this
character mean so much to me? What mistakes did they make to help themselves
grow? What worked? What didn’t work? What can I apply to my real life to feel
more true to myself? Who am I? Maybe it’s okay if I don’t know everything yet?
Underneath it all, we’re human. And behind all books are other human beings,
channeling their life experiences, hopes, dreams, failures, and fears into ink
on a page. Mental wellness begins with the hope that tomorrow improves upon
today, the ability to keep looking forward when the world wants to hold you
back. Books shine a spotlight through the darkness that tells us we aren’t
alone.
And as a children’s author, I try to channel positive coping strategies for
mental wellness into my books by not shying away from the heavy issues. In my
second published middle grade novel Loophole, I tackle anxiety and OCD head-on
by using some of my own real-life experiences to shape the main character
Maybelline’s journey toward confronting her mental hurdles. My hope with
Loophole was to write a book where kids could access therapeutic activities and
techniques for dealing with their own anxiety. This is the magic of books… they
allow essential information to travel across the ether into little hands who
need the support.
Parents, readers, and writers, please remember: children’s literature matters.
Keep writing. Keep reading. Keep growing. Find yourself in the stories you
love, then share them with your kids. Map out your personal progress through
your TBR. After all, mental wellness is a journey, not a destination.
Rebecca Weber is a Midwestern girl with a lifelong passion for books! She spends most of her time nurturing her baby girl and two Boston Terrier fur-babies, and flipping houses with her realtor husband. It took fifteen years to find the courage to craft her first novel, The Painter’s Butterfly, but now she’s never letting her feather pen go! While she misses teaching preschool-aged children their ABC’s, Rebecca is thrilled to have the chance to reach middle graders worldwide with her fantastical stories. Loophole is her second published novel.
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Loophole
"Why couldn't you
just keep your mouth shut?"
Maybelline "Maybe" Reed has stuck to a strict set of rules since Mama
left five years ago: neatness matters, avoid boys at all costs, and absolutely
no talking. She's convinced by being good she will coax Mama back into her
life. When her therapist suggests she confront her anxiety and OCD, Maybe must
do the unthinkable: enter sixth grade at a public middle school.
Maybe meets a sixth grade boy named Oliver and, after a rocky start, breaks one
of her rules when they become friends. But then she discovers her safe haven
and last remaining link to Mama, the Salem Public Library, is scheduled to
close for good. Maybe pledges to save the library with Oliver's help, but is
she brave enough to go through with their ambitious plan and possibly lose Mama
forever? She can either obey her anxiety's repetitive demands or use her
long-lost voice to finally make a difference.
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