Howe Library celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month! Check out our New Books Spotlight for the latest on this topic. It's a stressful time for us all! How are you taking care of your mental well-being? 

Creative expression and wellbeing in higher education : making and movement as mindful moments of self-care edited by Narelle Lemon
"This volume focuses on individual and collective practices of creativity, embodiment and movement as acts of self-care and wellbeing. Creative Expression and Wellbeing in Higher Education positions creative expression as an important act for professionals working in higher education, as a way to connect, communicate, practice activism or simply to slow down. Through examples as diverse as movement through dance and exercise, expression through drawing, writing or singing, and creating objects with one's hands, the authors share how individual and collective acts of creativity and movement enhance, support and embrace wellbeing, offering guidance to the reader on how such creative expression can be adopted as self-care practice. This book highlights how connection to hand, body, voice, and mind has been imperative in this process for expression, flow and engagement with self and wellbeing practices. Self-care and wellbeing are complex at the best of times. In higher education these are actions that are constantly being grappled with personally, collectively, and systematically. Designed to support readers working in higher education, this book will also be of great interest to professionals and researchers"

The expressive instinct : how imagination and creative works help us survive and thrive by Girija Kaimal
"The premise of this book is that creative self-expression is the foundation for mental health and well-being just as physical exercise and nutritious food are essential to the body. My aim is to explain why the human instinct for creative expression exists, what happens when we cannot express ourselves effectively, the sublimating role of creativity, how it aids healing, and how it can help us thrive."

Navigating students' mental health in the wake of Covid-19 : using public health crises to inform research and practice edited by James M. Kauffman and Jeanmarie Badar
"This book highlights the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health needs of children and adolescents in order to shed light on future practice and reform needed to better deal with the aftermath of such devastating events. The book identifies the conditions during any public health crisis that heighten the mental health needs of children and adolescents and suggests the reforms of mental health services needed to better meet the needs of children and youths during and following pandemics and other public health crises. Importance is placed not only on addressing the effects of COVID-19 but on anticipating and preparing for other public health disruptions to the lives of those who have not reached adulthood. Although mental health services in all settings are considered, special attention is given to the role of schools in providing for the mental health of children and adolescents and preparing for the mental health implications of future public health disruptions. The book will be of equal use to both students and researchers in the fields of mental health, wellbeing, and education as well as teachers, educational psychologists, social workers, and practitioners working in schools and communities to address students' mental health needs. It will help readers better understand how and why COVID-19 was a negative influence on students' mental health, and unpack how best to deal with the aftermath of the pandemic."

The big anxiety : taking care of mental health in times of crisis edited by Jill Bennett
"This book takes a creative approach in examining of the biggest crises of our time: that of mental suffering, distress and anxiety. By bringing together essays and dialogues from thinkers and artists across a range of disciplines, it re-imagines approaches to crisis, support, and care. Amid growing recognition that mental health is not only the province of psychiatry and the health sector, but a concern for the whole community, the book opens up critical new ways of thinking about our internal lives and the forces that affect them. The book significantly advances the way we think about cultural responses to mental health and the understanding of the struggles of inner life. Featuring both theoretical and practical examples of the value of using imagination in response to trauma, anxiety, and depression, The Big Anxiety shows how creativity is not a luxury, but a means of survival."

The words we keep by Erin Stewart
"When sixteen-year-old Lily Larkin's older sister, Alice, begins to struggle with her mental health, Lily attempts to keep everything together and perfect, despite her own growing anxiety."

All my rage by Sabaa Tahir
"Lahore, Pakistan. Then. Misbah is a dreamer and storyteller, newly married to Toufiq in an arranged match. After their young life is shaken by tragedy, they come to the United States and open the Clouds' Rest Inn Motel, hoping for a new start. Juniper, California. Now. Salahudin and Noor are more than best friends; they are family. Growing up as outcasts in the small desert town of Juniper, California, they understand each other the way no one else does. Until The Fight, which destroys their bond with the swift fury of a star exploding. Now, Sal scrambles to run the family motel as his mother Misbah's health fails and his grieving father loses himself to alcoholism. Noor, meanwhile, walks a harrowing tightrope: working at her wrathful uncle's liquor store while hiding the fact that she's applying to college so she can escape him--and Juniper--forever. When Sal's attempts to save the motel spiral out of control, he and Noor must ask themselves what friendship is worth--and what it takes to defeat the monsters in their pasts and the ones in their midst. From one of today's most cherished and bestselling young adult authors comes a breathtaking novel of young love, old regrets, and forgiveness--one that's both tragic and poignant in its tender ferocity."

Why has nobody told me this before? by Julie Smith (AudioBook)
“Drawing on years of experience as a clinical psychologist, online sensation Dr Julie Smith provides the skills you need to navigate common life challenges and take charge of your emotional and mental health in her debut book. Filled with secrets from a therapist's toolkit, Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before teaches you how to fortify and maintain your mental health, even in the most trying of times. Dr Julie Smith's expert advice and powerful coping techniques will help you stay resilient, whether you want to manage anxiety, deal with criticism, cope with depression, build self-confidence, find motivation, or learn to forgive yourself. Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before tackles everyday issues and offers practical solutions in bite-sized, easy-to-digest entries which make it easy to quickly find specific information and guidance. Your mental well-being is just as important as your physical well-being. Packed with proven strategies, Dr. Julie's empathetic guide offers a deeper understanding of how your mind works and gives you the insights and help you need to nurture your mental health every day. Wise and practical, Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before might just change your life. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.”