10 Must-Read Books That Break the Stigma Around Mental Health
October 7, 2025

Talking about mental health can still feel hard. That’s because stigma, the judgment or shame people feel or face for having mental health struggles, is still very real. According to recent mental health stigma statistics from NAMI, more than half of U.S. adults with a mental illness don’t receive treatment. One reason? Fear of being judged.


Books can help change that. They open doors to understanding. They help us see each other more clearly. They remind us we’re not alone.


At Lioness Books, we believe in the power of stories. We support diverse voices and care deeply about community wellness. This list is for anyone ready to learn, reflect, and join the movement to break the silence around mental health, because together, we can make a difference.


Why Is Mental Health Still Stigmatized?


Even though we talk about mental health more today than ever before, stigma still lingers. But why?


Much of the stigma stems from fear and a lack of understanding. For years, mental illness was hidden or treated as shameful. In movies and news, people with mental health issues are often depicted as violent, weak, or unstable. These portrayals still shape public perception.


Cultural beliefs matter too. In some families or communities, emotional struggles are seen as personal failures or problems to “get over.” This fosters silence and shame.


The truth is, mental health is just as real and important as physical health. Stigma only adds to the pain people are already carrying. That’s why breaking it matters.


Examples of Mental Health Stigma


Mental health stigma can show up in small, everyday moments. Sometimes, it sounds like:


  • “Just tough it out.”
  • “You don’t look depressed.”
  • “People with anxiety are just overreacting.”


Stigma can also arise at work, where someone may avoid helping out of fear they’ll seem unreliable. In schools, students struggling with focus or emotional issues are often labeled as lazy instead of being supported.


Even within families, someone may stay quiet about how they feel because they worry they’ll be judged or not believed. This kind of silence can make people feel even more alone.


10 Must-Read Books by Local Authors That Destigmatize Mental Health


Stories deepen our understanding of others’ feelings. They remind us we aren’t alone. Each book offers a distinct voice and experience, but all aim to create space for healing through honesty, empathy, and connection.


Here are 10 powerful books that help break the stigma and invite us to listen, reflect, and heal.


1. "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" by Lori Gottlieb


Through stories of her therapy clients and her own experience, Lori Gottlieb shows that even therapists need help sometimes. It’s an honest, often funny, and deeply human look at how people grow through pain, loss, and change.


Purchase Here


2. "The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression" by Andrew Solomon


Andrew Solomon blends personal experience with research and interviews to explore the many sides of depression: medical, social, and cultural. He travels across countries, meets with scientists and survivors, and reflects on his own journey with mental illness.

Purchase Here


3. "It’s OK That You’re Not OK" by Megan Devine


Megan Devine writes from her own loss to explain why grief isn’t something to “fix.” She speaks to those living with loss and those who want to help, without offering quick solutions or false hope.


Purchase Here


4. "The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.


Dr. Bessel van der Kolk uses decades of research to explain how trauma lives in the body and mind. He shares stories from survivors and offers science-backed ways to support healing. It helps readers understand why recovery looks different for everyone, and why we must treat trauma with care.


Purchase Here


5. "Reasons to Stay Alive" by Matt Haig


Matt Haig shares what it felt like to live through a deep depression and anxiety, and what helped him keep going. By putting real words to an often hidden experience, this book helps reduce the shame that can surround mental illness and reminds readers that they are not the only ones feeling this way.


Purchase Here 


6. "An Unquiet Mind" by Kay Redfield Jamison


As a clinical psychologist living with bipolar disorder, Kay Redfield Jamison writes with rare insight. Her memoir explores the highs and lows of the illness, as well as the challenges of treating others while struggling herself.


Purchase Here 


7. "I’m Telling the Truth, but I’m Lying" by Bassey Ikpi


Bassey Ikpi shares intimate essays about life with bipolar II and anxiety, moving between her Nigerian roots and American experience. By naming what’s often left unspoken, especially in communities of color, this book disrupts silence and isolation around mental health.


Purchase Here 


8. "Burnout" by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski


Emily and Amelia Nagoski explain why so many women feel overwhelmed, exhausted, and stuck, and what can be done about it. They break down the stress cycle and offer practical ways to move through it.


Purchase Here 


9. "Heavy" by Kiese Laymon


Kiese Laymon reflects on growing up Black in the South, navigating trauma, weight, shame, and silence. This memoir opens up space for complex conversations around race, masculinity, and mental health, especially in places where those stories are often left out.


Purchase Here 


10. "Unmasking Autism" by Devon Price


Devon Price explores how many autistic people hide their true selves to adapt to a world that misunderstands them. Drawing on personal experience and research, the book shows what unmasking truly means.


Purchase Here 


How Books Help Reduce Mental Health Stigma


Books can be lifelines. They reveal that mental health struggles are far more common than we think, and that healing is possible. When authors share their stories, they create space for others to feel seen and understood.


Reading about someone else’s journey can help us better understand our own or support someone we love. Books also help challenge myths by showing the full, human experience behind the label.


Whether it’s a memoir, a novel, or a guide, a good book can be the starting point of a deeper conversation and a powerful step toward empathy and change.


Find Your Voice in Someone Else’s Story


Stigma fades when we choose to listen, learn, and speak up. These books are invitations to see mental health through a more human lens. Whether you’re looking for hope, understanding, or a place to begin, there’s something in these pages for you.


At Lioness Books, we believe stories can build stronger, more caring communities. That’s why we uplift diverse voices and make space for conversations that matter. You can support this mission and your own journey by picking up one of these titles today.

Browse and shop our full collection at Lioness Books.


Frequently Asked Questions About Mental Health


What Does Mental Health Stigma Mean?


Mental health stigma is the negative belief or judgment people have about mental illness. It shows up when someone is labeled as “weak,” “crazy,” or “broken” for struggling with their mental health. Stigma can lead to silence, shame, and discrimination. It also prevents people from asking for help or discussing what they’re going through.


How Can We Help Break the Stigma Around Mental Health?


We can help break the stigma by changing how we talk, think, and act around mental health. Here are a few ways to start:


  • Talk openly about mental health.
  • Listen without judgment.
  • Learn from people with lived experience..
  • Challenge stereotypes and correct false ideas when you hear them.
  • Support access to care by advocating for better mental health resources.
  • Treat mental health like physical health.


Even small actions can make a big difference.



Which Books Are Good for Understanding Mental Health?


Books that share personal stories or offer clear insight into mental health challenges are helpful. Some good options include "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" by Lori Gottlieb, "The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel van der Kolk, and "Heavy" by Kiese Laymon. These titles offer different points of view and help readers better understand what it’s like to live with depression, anxiety, trauma, or other mental health conditions.


Why Is There Still So Much Stigma Around Mental Illness?


Mental illness has often been misunderstood and misrepresented in the media, schools, and even families. Many people still believe it’s a sign of weakness or something to be ashamed of. Some cultures also avoid talking about emotional struggles altogether. All of this creates fear, silence, and misinformation, which is why education and honest conversations are so important.

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At Lioness Books, we believe that books are not merely a matter of ink and paper, but are armories brimming with the untamed ordinance of freedom, ideas, transformation, progress and inspiration; arsenals forged to fight the soul-silencing tyranny of ignorance and suppression. Under current political conditions, the United States has seen an alarming escalation in the scope and scale of book censorship, with our great state of Texas leading the charge in aggressive restriction of accessing books which explore race, gender, sexuality, and social justice. In 2025, the banning of books has re-emerged not as a fringe idea or lesson in history, but as a strategy within a broader effort to control cultural narratives and shift our truths. Disguised as protection, this current call for censorship threatens the very essence of what a bookstore believes in and represents… a free exchange of ideas. We, as Texans, are standing at an epochal crossroads, facing a challenge that is not simply a battleground for intellectual freedom, but a fatal threat to democracy herself. Here at Lioness Books, we are resolute in our dedication to this struggle, and we are committed to fight without compromise nor capitulation. Texas, more than any other state, leads the country in formal book challenges and bans. According to data from PEN America, a nonprofit organization that tracks censorship in literature, Texas school districts have led the nation in book bans for the past five years. These bans often target works of LGBTQ authors, books by and about people of color, and works that confront America’s historical injustices. The political justification tends to hinge on vague or loaded terms such as obscenity, indoctrination, or inappropriate content, without recognizing the literary or didactic value of the works in question.  What we are witnessing in Texas is not just a reaction to individual titles, but the deliberate use of censorship as a political weapon to reshape public education and discourse. State legislators have passed and proposed laws that limit how teachers can discuss race and gender in classrooms, and library materials are now under scrutiny from elected boards, whose knowledge of literature and learning is more often than not, slim to none. These developments are not isolated. They are part of a coordinated national trend that has pushed Texas out front as the ideological epicenter and political testing-ground for this refurnished brand of censorship. These bans do more than remove books; they erase the experiences of marginalized communities, signaling to students - especially those from underrepresented groups - that their stories don’t matter. We believe our youth deserve better. They deserve literature that reflects the full spectrum of human experience, and to deny access to those diverse perspectives is to rob them of a chance to develop critical thinking, empathy, insight, and a nuanced understanding of the world. The pages of history are stained with the consequences of book bans, a tactic employed by those who seek to suffocate the human spirit’s capacity for thought and soulful transformation. In Nazi Germany, the beginning flames of fascism were fed with kindling constructed of novels, poems, political papers, and science texts deemed un-German, degenerate , or contrary to the country’s nationalist ideology. Their 1933 book burnings were not vandalism but a calculated effort to erase ideas that threatened fascist control, setting the stage for the cultural and moral devastation that was soon to come. In the Jim Crow South, from Reconstruction through the Civil Rights era, books that affirmed the dignity of Black Americans or exposed the horrors of racism - like Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God - were systematically excluded from public access to preserve the narrative of racial inferiority. The McCarthy era in 1950s America also echoed this fear of ideas, as the government’s frantic, anti-communist crusade led to the blacklisting of authors, librarians, and teachers. Works such as Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience and John Steinbeck’s The Grapes Of Wrath were pulled from library shelves beneath the accusation of promoting leftist ideals, and for daring to question the status quo. History offers countless parallels: the 16th century burning of Mayan codices, and the erasing of indigenous knowledge by the Spanish, or the Chinese Communist Party’s destruction of counterrevolutionary texts during the Cultural Revolution. Each instance reveals censorship as the weapon of choice for those who fear the power of knowledge and the capacity of the right words to awaken consciences, stir emotions, and ignite movements of change. These lessons from the past compel us to resist the book bans of today, recognizing them as assaults on the very essence of intellectual and moral freedom. Texas - where freedom and independence have long been considered God-given birthrights - we must resist being the next to fall into the goose-step march of oppression, censorship, and control. Our children deserve better. Our teachers deserve better. Our future deserves better, and our democracy - messy, plural, and defiant - demands better. For Lioness Books, our resistance to this suppression is not just a matter of principle. It is a recognition of literature’s role in the eternal struggle for justice and truth. 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