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I was an anxious kid growing up—Always overthinking and worrying about every stupid little thing. I’ve also been a reader for as long as I can remember, and there have been very few times when I found a character who thought as I did. Often, anxiety didn’t even enter their thought process, and if it did, it was often written off as a flaw or quirk of the character. As I’ve grown up, the pattern of performative or quirky anxiety continued. Until now.

Disclosure: This newsletter dives into mental health and sexual assault. It mentions the word rape a few times, so if any of those topics are difficult for you, feel free to skip this newsletter and join us again next week. ❤️

Mental health issues such as anxiety, OCD, and depression have always existed—They’ve just been portrayed incorrectly in so many instances. For years, it felt like anxiety was written as something that needed to be fixed by a love interest. Or, if it wasn’t happening to the main character, it found its way into a side character for comic relief. Poor OCD representation has conditioned people into thinking that it’s all about “excessively washing your hands” or making sure your cereal boxes are all facing the correct direction. While OCD can present itself in those ways, there are also so many other forms, and it can go beyond being organized. Depression, on the other hand, is often portrayed as lying in bed all day with no motivation to move. High-functioning depression is something you almost never see. It’s not as if books and movies never had representation; they just followed what was considered the “norm”.

In May, I consumed two mediums that approached mental health in a way I have never seen or read before. They’re not necessarily the first, but I think they’ve most definitely caused a shift.

Earlier this month, I read Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It by Brooke Averick, and if I had to sum up my review in one word, it would be: Incredible.

Brooke Averick is a comedian, podcaster and content creator, and Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It marks her debut novel. The story follows a 29-year-old woman who suffers from intimacy anxiety and makes a plan to lose her virginity before her 30th birthday. Now, as a longtime listener of her podcast, Brooke and Connor Make a Podcast, this book was on my radar long before it even came out. Turns out it should’ve been on my radar for other reasons: Authentic anxiety representation. I loved this book with my entire soul and would recommend it to everyone. Not only did I feel incredibly seen in this story, but the struggles Phoebe had felt so tangible. Despite not relating to every piece of her mental health, the impact wasn’t any weaker. Not a single piece of her character felt forced, performative, or quirky—it was just her.

➡️ Have you read any books with mental health or anxiety representation that made you feel seen? Drop some recommendations in the comments <3

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During Brooke Averick’s book tour, I had the absolute pleasure of hosting her on my podcast to chat about how this book came to be—from its representation of anxiety to the writing process. You can watch the full episode below, but here are the standouts.

Phoebe’s anxiety is Brooke’s anxiety. In the interview, Brooke says, “Full transparency, I did just use my own anxiety because I don’t know what else you could do. Like I’ll never experience someone else’s thoughts and no one will experience mine.” From a reader perspective, it becomes very evident why the anxiety felt so authentic in this book.
She was worried no one else was going to get the anxiety in this story, but was so glad to hear other people understood it. “It was something I felt like I was alone in,” she had voiced.
Phoebe and Brooke share similar anxiety, but Phoebe is very type-A in how she reacts to that anxiety, whereas Brooke is type-B. The two also have very different personalities and lives.

Before even meeting Brooke, this book stood out to me as an impactful story. On top of anxiety falling flat in so many books before this one, the mentions of therapy did too. Phoebe’s therapy journey in this book is portrayed in a way that makes readers feel seen; Not like they need to be fixed. And it’s one of the many reasons I love romance and fiction over self-help books.

I think when the trailer for Off Campus first dropped, many readers expressed concern that Hannah’s backstory wouldn’t be featured. Now that I know what I know, it makes complete sense that it's not in the trailer. For those who haven’t read the books or watched the series, Hannah Wells is the main protagonist in The Deal by Elle Kennedy, and she was sexually assaulted in high school. In the books, we learn that very quickly, whereas the show doesn’t spell it out initially.

Hannah’s story and character resonated with so many readers because what happened to her didn’t define her. Despite going through an incredibly traumatic event, she is still a bright and bubbly person. When I asked showrunner Louisa Levy about it, she said they intentionally didn’t mention her backstory right away. She expressed that the moment you put a darker backstory on TV, that character can quickly become defined by it. Instead, we got to see Hannah’s journey toward having a healthy and confident sex life.

“I’m not fragile. I don’t need your pity. I don’t need you to be my therapist,” — Hannah Wells, Off Campus on Prime Video

Every piece of her journey felt intentional. Her backstory even gave her joyful character more depth. Her sexual assault isn’t something they simply added in; it’s shows a very real reality. According to the UN, 15 million adolescent girls (aged 15 to 19) worldwide have experienced forced sex at some point in their lives. I came across this statistic from an article by Alyssa Forato at Refinery29 titled, “Off Campus Is The First Show That Made Me Feel Seen After Experiencing Sexual Assault.” That title alone holds so much weight, and I strongly urge you to read the article in full. Something else the article dove into was the fact that Off Campus never once forced viewers to relive the moment with Hannah. Several scenes flashed back to Hannah’s life in high school and the guy who assaulted her, but we never have to see that moment. And that’s what Forato said makes Off Campus truly stand out from other films and TV shows; It doesn’t give power to the rape.

Characters with realistic emotions and feelings.

Anxiety without stereotypes.

Relatable characters and relationships.

Characters with flaws.

Mental health storylines alongside family and friends.

Characters who overthink and make mistakes.

Mental health struggles that don’t define a character.

Feeling seen > Feeling like they need to be fixed

…here’s what else is happening in the book world!

Fourth Wing Just Crossed the Line Most Book Adaptations Never Reach

Why The Fever Dream Audiobook Might Ruin All Other Audiobooks for You

Not Everything Needs to Be the Next Heated Rivalry, and here’s why shows like ‘Off Campus’ deserve their own spotlight!