My series discusses many subjects, hopefully bringing some awareness and understanding to them. One of the overall themes from my series is mental health. There is so much stigma behind things like depression, and people don’t talk openly about them like they should. Our world has made it into something to be ashamed of. My main character, Harper, has been taught that very thing, and my book shares how it can have a devastating impact on people’s lives.
I have suffered from depression on and off for a long time. It goes in tandem with my anxiety which is an even bigger issue for me, as my anxiety is a pretty constant thing. We, as a society, seem to be getting better at talking about it, especially via social media posts, but I know there is still a lot of work to be done with conversations that take place in person and not just behind a screen. I am talking about more than just anxiety and depression but all other mental health topics as well. We need to be more educated and aware of what someone is going through, be more empathetic to the people we know and even the ones we don’t.
My depiction of how Harper handles her mental health is just one take on an experience someone may have. It is important to know that it is different for everyone, along with how others handle theirs. It is important to me that my books are not a trigger to anyone, which is why I added a content warning to them for people. While the content is important to address, people need to decide for themselves if it is something they feel they can handle.