A new “Reading Well” initiative has just been launched in the UK to support 13-18 year-olds who are dealing with mental health issues.
The “Books on Prescription” are a list of 35 titles, selected by mental health experts and young people who have direct experience of mental health issues. All of the books are freely available in British libraries and include a range of fiction, self-help, memoir, and graphic novel titles.
Books on the list include Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, and Juno Dawson’s Mind Your Head.
In a world where 15-16 year olds are twice as likely to report that they feel anxious or depressed as they were 30 years ago, a scheme like this could be invaluable in placing help and information in the hands of young people who are most in need of it. It is also further testament to importance of libraries in the well-being of the world’s citizens. I appreciate that many of GeekDad’s readers are not based in the UK, but I hope these books are freely available in a library near you too.
You can read more about the scheme here, and a comprehensive list of all the books involved, here.
