THE BEASTS IN YOUR BRAIN

Journalist Speller draws from her personal experience with mental health as a teen and adult as well as extensive research and interviews in her debut nonfiction.

The author writes that early in her research, the Covid-19 pandemic hit and people found themselves living in unprecedented times. Her topic then took on a new urgency as mental health experts warned of the effects the pandemic was having on adolescents. The resulting work is both a detailed and informative account of mental health illnesses among teenagers and a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to recovery. Throughout the book, the author guides the readers through a healing journey that starts with naming and acknowledging their mental illness and moves on to finding professional treatments, a support system, and different techniques and coping tools, including technology, to face these challenges. Speller writes with humor and a personable style that projects empathy and inclusivity, making her readers, no matter their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, or financial background, feel seen, heard, and empowered. The “brain beasts,” as she calls mental illnesses, almost come to life through powerful, full-page, stylized grayscale illustrations. As the narrative progresses, so too does the art, leading to the final message: an assurance to adolescents that they are bigger than the beasts in their brains.

A valuable guide for teens struggling with mental health and the people who care about them.