A Non-Fiction June and Its Wrap Up

June turned out to be a non-fiction month for me—who would have thought? Instead of picking up something that had been long perched on my reading list, I went to the library and finished the two books that I borrowed.

1. Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

Tuesdays With Morrie is a memoir of a dying professor written by his ex-student. After more than a decade of not meeting each other, Mitch Albom found his way back to his old professor from Brandeis University, Morrie Schwartz. Mitch had his final project with Morrie during his teacher's final time battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 1995. It was like their final thesis together with the subject of life, classes held every Tuesday.

I closed this book with a face full of tears. I have never been a big fan of biography books, but Tuesdays With Morrie has touched me from the very beginning. It is not a book you seek to feel good, nor that it is something to comfort—to me personally, this book acted more like a moving reminder, an eye-opener that advised me not to take everything for granted and then had me latch it onto my mind.

2. Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

Reasons to Stay Alive was a swift non-fiction read for me. It follows Haig's journey in battling depression and anxiety. Navigating his life after college was not easy, especially when his disease was not physical and thus was often misunderstood. In this book, Haig also emphasizes the importance of his loved ones and the joy of little things as he suffered through depression in his early 20s.

For me, reading this book felt like an in-depth look at a young adult's thoughts during depression. In other words, it was messy, understandable, but also relatable. In conclusion, I stand my ground about the importance of this book as an introduction to depression for someone who wants to grasp the concept of mental health issues through a real-life experience. If only this book provided a closer look at how Haig was able to fight through depression, not only some glimpses of how his life looked afterward, I would also label it as something you should read to fight off the disease.