West Bend Community Memorial Library

Stay Afloat - (Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Websites on Depression and Suicide)
[printable] [printable-just titles]

Fiction
A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson - To escape a miserable existence taking care of her alcoholic mother, seventeen-year-old Zoe rents a room from an eccentric woman, but her earnings as a waitress after school are minimal and she must go to extremes to cover expenses.
 
Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta - There have been lots of changes for Francesca as she starts Year Eleven at St. Sebastian's, a formerly all-boys school that has grudgingly admitted 30 coeds. She misses her old friends, but mostly she misses her mother, a strong vocal communications lecturer at the University of Technology, Sydney, who has slipped into a severe depression and can't get out of bed. Francesca is also facing challenges at school. Suddenly, she's hanging out with new friends, girls who were so uncool at St. Stella's, and it's impossible to talk things over with her mother as she once did. Life gets more complicated when she develops a crush on Will Trombal, who can't seem to make up his mind whether he wants to be with her or his current girlfriend. The trials continue throughout the year, and a conflict with her father brings everything to a head. At that point Francesca begins to understand what really matters, who her friends are, and, most importantly, who she is.
After the Death of Anna Gonzales by Terri Fields - Poems written in the voices of forty-seven people, including students, teachers, and other school staff, record the aftermath of a high school student's suicide and the preoccupations of teen life.
Damage by A.M. Jenkins - What you really want to do is give up trying. Lay your head down on the steering wheel and quit sneezing, quit breathing, quit trying. The problem is, you can't . Just quit, that is. When people want to quit, they have to choose. Make a decision. Take action.
Borderlands by Jennifer Dewey - After attempting suicide, seventeen-year-old Jamie is admitted to a psychiatric ward, where she must come to terms with the abusive, neglectful family relationships that have led to her situation and where she meets a young man whose problems are much worse than her own.
Aimee by Mary Beth Miller - After she is accused of playing a role in her best friend's death, a young woman battles depression, anger, guilt, loneliness, and the problems of her own family as well as those of the families of her old friends.
Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going - Seventeen-year-old Troy, depressed, suicidal, and weighing nearly 300 pounds, gets a new perspective on life when a homeless teenager who is a genius on guitar wants Troy to be the drummer in his rock band.
Inside Out by Terry Trueman - While a 16-year-old battling schizophrenia waits in a coffee shop for his mother to arrive with his medication, two boys attempt to rob the café and take hostages. PW called this "a vivid story of three desperate teens that recalls Robert Cormier, with its dark, disturbing theme and narrative shifts in rapid-fire succession."
Who Owns Kelly Paddick? by Beth Goobie - I pushed open the car door, dug my feet into the ground, and made a run for it. Behind me, I heard my social worker start yelling. At the driveway entrance the huge iron gate still stood open. I had to get away--that was all I could think about. I was through the gate, and there was the street ahead of me. Everything in me pulled together and began to run, fast as my heart was beating, faster. Kelly Paddik is locked up. Sent to a secure facility because she is a "danger to herself, " Kelly wants only to escape. But her painful past continues to haunt her until she is forced to face up to the most painful memory of all. A searing look at one girl's struggle for self-respect.
Walking Naked by Alyssa Brugman - There are those who are popular, those who are outcasts, and those who must choose between the two. Brugman pens a sharply observed, unflinching story about the ins and outs of girls' friendships.
Under the Wolf, Under the Dog by Adam Rapp - Steve Nugent is in a facility called Burnstone Grove. It's a place for kids who are addicts, like Shannon Lynch, who can stick $1.87 in change up his nose, or for kids who have tried to commit suicide, like Silent Starla, whom Steve is getting a crush on. But Steve doesn't really fit in either group. He used to go to a gifted school. So why is he being held at Burnstone Grove? Keeping a journal, in which he recalls his confused and violent past, Steve is left to figure out who he is by examining who he was.
NonFiction
Will's Choice: a Suicidal Teen, a Desperate Mother, and a Chronicle of Recovery by Gail Griffith - In the early hours of March 11, 2001, seventeen-year-old Will ingested a near-fatal dose of his antidepressant medication, an event that forever changed his life and the lives of his family. In Will's Choice, his mother, Gail Griffith, takes us down the very personal road each of the family members traveled to renew Will's interest in life and to regain their equilibrium in the aftermath of his self-destructive act. Griffith intersperses her own finely wrought prose with dozens of letters and journal entries from family and friends, including many from Will himself, allowing us to bear witness to Will's attempts to explain what even he cannot fully understand: why he did it. A memoir with a social conscience, this book not only examines one family's struggle to overcome depression and an attempted suicide, it lays bare the social, political, and economic challenges that American families face in combating this most mysterious and stigmatized of illnesses. In Gail Griffith, depressed teens have found themselves a formidable new advocate. And in the evocative and fiercely compelling narrative of Will's Choice, we all discover the promise of a second chance.
 
One in thirteen: The Silent Epidemic of Teen Suicide by Jessica Portner - One in Thirteen offers a sobering examination of the teen suicide epidemic in America. This frank portrait of coming-of-age in contemporary American society examines why more children are killing themselves now than in any other time in recorded history.
 
When Life Stinks by Michel Piquemal - Ten percent of teenagers suffer from clinical depression and sixty percent of high schoolers have considered suicide. This timely and useful book examines dark moods and mental illness, and gives young people tools for coping, plus advice on when, where, and how to get help.
The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon - Brent Runyon was 14 years old when he set himself on fire. This is a true story. In The Burn Journals, Runyon describes that devastating suicide attempt and his recovery over the following year. He takes us into the Burn Unit in a children’s hospital and through painful burn care and skin-grafting procedures. Then to a rehabilitation hospital, for intensive physical, occupational, and psychological therapy. And then finally back home, to the frightening prospect of entering high school. But more importantly, Runyon takes us into his own mind. He shares his thoughts and hopes and fears with such unflinching honesty that we understand—with a terrible clarity—what it means to want to kill yourself and how it feels to struggle back toward normality. Intense, exposed, insightful, The Burn Journals is a deeply personal story with universal reach. It is impossible to look away. Impossible to remain unmoved. This truly riveting memoir is a spectacular debut for a talented new writer.
Conquering the Beast Within: How I Fought Depression and Won... and How You Can Too by Cait Irwin - For anyone in the clutches of the frightening beast that is depression, this book can help. In vivid words and images, Cait Irwin shares her own compelling story: how she struggled with clinical depression at age fourteen, was hospitalized, sought therapy, found the right medication, and successfully made the long, arduous climb back to good health. This powerful volume shares an inspirational message with all who are waging their own battles with depression: There is a way out.
Depression by Wendy Moragne - Depression is common among teens. This excellent resource for troubled teens and their friends covers diagnosis, treatment, and how to deal with depression within a family. Using case histories to illustrate common forms of depression, this is a reassuring, concise, straight-talking, non-condescending book that treats the topic for what it is -- a treatable disorder that does not have to be permanently debilitating.
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna KaysenGirl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen - After a 10 minute interview with a strange psychiatrist, 18 year old Susanna was admitted to MaClean Psychiatric Hospital. Here, she was to spend the next two years of her life. These are her perceptions of insanity, interwoven with her detailed description of life on a psychiatric ward for teenage girls.
How I Stayed Alive When My Brain was Trying to Kill Me: One Person's Guide to Suicide Prevention by Susan Rose Blauner - An international epidemic, suicide has touched the lives of nearly half of all Americans, yet is rarely talked about openly. In this timely and important book, Susan Blauner breaks the silence to offer guidance and hope for those contemplating ending their lives -- and for their loved ones. A survivor of multiple suicide attempts, Blauner eloquently describes the feelings and fantasies surrounding suicide. In a direct, nonjudgmental, and loving voice, she offers affirmations and suggestions for those experiencing life-ending thoughts, and for their friends and family. Here is an essential resource destined to be the classic guide on the subject. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among the elderly, third among those aged 14-24, and eighth among all Americans. More than 30,000 Americans take their lives annually, and more than 650,000 Americans attempt suicide every year. In August 2002, Blauner will participate in "Out of the Darkness," the largest ever public awareness event on the topic, in Washington, D.C. A portion of the book's proceeds will go to the National Hopeline Network/National Suicide Hotline (1-800-SUICIDE).
Mental Health Information for Teens - Compiled from information generated by government agencies, professional organization, and periodicals, this teen health reference contains 50 chapters divided into five parts on mental health concerns (normal life stresses centered around self-esteem, peer pressure, anger, etc.); common types of mental illness (information on diagnosis and treatment); suicide (statistics, FAQs, and prevention tips); getting Treatment (medications and various kinds of health care professionals); and resources, with web sites and e-mail addresses.
Prozac Nation: Young and Depressed in America: A Memoir by Elizabeth Wurtzel - A memoir of sex, drugs, and depression indicts an overmedicated America as it chronicles the fortunes of a Harvard educated child of divorce who lived in the fast lane as a music critic, always fighting her chronic depression.
Ups & Downs: How to Beat the Blues and Teen Depression by Susan Klebanoff - A guide for teenagers with questions about mood swings and depression provides advice on coping with anger, school rebellion, and other problems. Examines the nature, causes, and effects of depression, where to turn for help, and ways to cope with it. For every teenager who has had questions about mood swings and bouts of depression, a reassuring, easy-to-read guide gives advice on coping with anger, school rebellion, promiscuity, eating disorders, and much more.
We're Not Monsters: Teens Speak Out about Teens in Trouble by Sabrina Solin Weill - I think adults miss something very important about teenagers. They think teenagers are dangerous I little vortexes of evil. I. But my friends and I have so much more we'd rather do than waste time gathering guns and ammunition and stuff. My friends and I are not harmful. But inconsiderate treatment can stir to terrible action those who are." -- John, 15 "We are human beings, not machines. A person can only take so much before reaching a breaking point." -- Jill, 19 We've all seen the newspaper stories, watched the TV dramas unfold. They're everywhere, it seems: teenagers who shoot classmates in schools, who molest children, who commit suicide or cut themselves or give birth in secret and leave babies on doorsteps or in Dumpsters, Are these teenagers born bad -- or did something happen to make them act this way? Why do teens today feel so angry, so full of pain, so alone? Listen to the voices of teenagers as they comment, candidly, on teens in trouble. The experts, those who study these difficult issues and discuss them in the media, draw their own conclusions. The teens here tell it like it is.
When Nothing Matters Anymore: A Survival Guide for Depressed Teens by Bev Cobain - A guide to understanding and coping with depression, discussing the different types, how and why the condition begins, how it may be linked to substance abuse or suicide, and how to get help.
You Remind Me of You by Eireann CorriganYou Remind Me of You: A Poetry Memoir by Eireann Corrigan - Eireann Corrigan uses free verse to describe what it felt like to have an eating disorder - things like overheard comments about how she's too fat to take to prom, hidden stash of plastic bags holding the meals she's vomited secretly.  When her boyfriend tries to kill himself, she makes a bargain; she'll eat if he lives.
After Suicide: Living with the Questions by Eileen Kuehn - Explains the possible causes of suicide, describes the common stages of grieving teenagers experience after a loved one commits suicide, and suggests ways to cope with the loss.
Below you will find a list of web resources aimed at helping depressed or suicidal teens, as well as the people who love them.
 
Go Ask Alice!
http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/Cat4.html
Read questions asked by other teens about the blues, depression and suicide, or ask one of your own.
 
Helpguide: Depression and Suicide in Teenagers
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/depression_teen.htm
Informative site that explains the triggers, symptoms, effects and risk factors associated with depression and suicide; in addition, it offers advice and directs you to additional resources.
 
Internet Public Library Teenspace: Suicide
http://www.ipl.org/div/teen/browse/ic5000/
This list of links directs you to sites aimed at helping those who are suicidal themselves or who suspect their friend or loved one is suicidal.
 
Teen Moods
http://www.teen-moods.net/
Whether you chose to lurk or actively participate, there’s plenty to do here at the Teen Depression Support Community, from message boards to poetry to depression FAQs.
 
TeensHealth: Depression
http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/mental_health/depression.html
The folks at TeensHealth offer help for those who are depressed and for friends and family of depressed teens. This site also offers links to other sites dealing with suicide, self mutilation, and mental health.
 

~Young Adult Librarian ~
Kristin Pekoll
kpekoll@west-bendlibrary.org
262.335.5151 x128

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Updated November 12, 2008

"Organized education gives us information, but there are things we have to learn ourselves" ~ Lauryn Hill