Minnie's Fiction Addiction

What to Read Wednesday: Mental Health Awareness Month Edition

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to shine a light on the importance of mental well-being and to celebrate stories that explore the highs, lows, and everything in between. This week, we’re recommending books across a range of genres that sensitively (and sometimes humorously) tackle mental health themes. Whether you love romance, thrillers, memoirs, or YA, there’s something here to make you feel seen, or simply to open your eyes.

📚 1. Contemporary Fiction: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Meet Eleanor: quirky, regimented, socially awkward, and deeply lonely. Honeyman’s debut is a masterclass in portraying isolation and trauma with compassion and gentle humour. It’s a hopeful, tender journey of healing that doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff.

🔍 2. Thriller: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Alicia Berenson hasn’t spoken since the night she shot her husband. As a psychotherapist digs into her past, the story explores themes of trauma, repression, and the complexities of therapy. A psychological thriller that earns its genre and still makes space for mental health exploration.

❤️ 3. Romance: The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

It’s a love story, yes, but one where anxiety, trauma, and recovery are front and centre. Leon and Tiffy’s flatshare arrangement turns into something deeper, and O’Leary handles past emotional abuse and PTSD with a gentle, affirming touch.

🙍🏽‍♀️ 4. Young Adult: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

No sugar-coating here, this is an unflinching dive into the mind of a teen living with OCD. Green brings authenticity and empathy to a narrative that doesn’t offer easy answers, but does offer solidarity.

✍️ 5. Non-Fiction / Memoir: Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb

Therapist-turned-author Lori Gottlieb lets readers peek behind the curtain, not just into the therapy room, but into her own life. Funny, poignant, and painfully real, this one reminds us that healing is messy and growth never looks how we expect it to.

🦄 6. Fantasy: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

What if you could explore all the lives you could have lived? Haig’s novel offers a speculative take on depression, regret, and the meaning of happiness. It’s philosophical, comforting, and quietly powerful.

Final Thoughts

Reading about mental health can be both validating and eye-opening. Whether it’s through laughter, tension, tears, or magic, these stories remind us that mental health is part of every story, sometimes front and centre, sometimes in the background, but always worth talking about.

What are your favourite books that explore mental health? Let me know in the comments or tag me in your #WhatToReadWednesday posts!