One of my goals over winter break was to start reading books for fun again. As an English major, I read constantly throughout the school year, but I never get to pick my own books out to read because I typically have so many other books I need to read for class. So far, my goal to read for fun has been going pretty well, and I'm averaging about and over the past three weeks, I've read five books, which isn't too many, but hey, I do have other things to do with all this free time.
Anyways, yesterday I decided to dive into the YA genre and pick up Sophie Kinsella's Finding Audrey. I haven't read a YA novel in the longest time, but let me tell you, you don't need to be a high schooler or middle schooler to enjoy this book. In fact, if you or a loved one struggles with anxiety or any mental illness at all, I highly recommend this novel.
Finding Audrey accurately depicts mental illness, specifically anxiety. The main character, Audrey, is a young girl that struggles with paralyzing social anxiety. Her anxiety is so severe that she has to wear sunglasses all the time to avoid eye contact and she cannot leave the house except to go to therapy. While I have pretty bad anxiety, my anxiety is not nearly as severe as Audrey's, but I still found Audrey's anxiety to be relatable.
Sophie Kinsella does a really good job of describing what anxiety feels like, while at the same time reminding the reader that anxiety is fully treatable. That is something that I think is especially important about this book. Anxiety isn't something that you can "will away" or "turn off," however, it is something that can get better over time. This is a misconception that Sophie Kinsella addresses in the book, and I think it's really important for people struggling with anxiety to understand as well as their friends and family.
This is a book that I wish I would have read earlier. I was Audrey's age when I was first diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and I wish that I would have had this book to read then because then I would have seen how truly treatable it is. Also, a lot of the techniques that Audrey learns to control her anxiety are really beneficial and have helped me control my anxiety in the past as well. In particular, I really relate to watching infomercials to calm down instead of shows with too much drama. However, I prefer watching makeup tutorials on YouTube.
While it is 2018, there is still a stigma around mental illness, but I think this book breaks it down.
