Fourteen (Additional) Memoirs/Non-Fiction Books about Achieving Mental Wellness

Rachel Steinman
19 min readMay 5, 2022

And the Healing Power of Story

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

As an elementary school teacher, my favorite lessons and conversations centered around kindness, love, compassion, and inclusion- topics that came up not only inside the classroom but on the school yard and beyond. I continue to teach these concepts as a volunteer for NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) when I go into middle schools, high schools, and into parent education events to share a program called “Ending the Silence.” I always begin by sharing personal stories of my family’s history of mental illness, namely four suicides, bipolar, depression, anxiety, ADHD, OCD, homelessness, substance abuse, and addiction.

Sharing a personal story is a powerful, unifying tool connecting us, breaking down barriers, and healing wounds. Besides educating about warning signs to look out for, suicide prevention tips, and offering resources, I let the students, staff, and parents know they’re not alone, there’s hope, and that by asking for help they’re being brave because they aren’t giving up. I hope they see how mental illness affects the entire family and how it can continue down their family line unless they take action to cut their generational trauma. I want them to know they have the power within them to rewrite their own story.

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Rachel Steinman

Host of “Dear Family,” the Podcast, Writer, Educator, and Mental Health Advocate https://writenowrachel.com/