Talking about the Hard Stuff: Why We Need Authentic Perspectives on Mental Health in Fiction

Program Type:

Author Talk, Literature, Local Author, Wellness

Age Group:

Teens, Emerging Adults, Adults, Older Adults
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Event Details

“Mental health has become the defining public health and societal challenge of our time.” The US Surgeon General, Fall 2023

“Fiction gives us empathy.” Neil Gaiman

Fiction entertains, informs, and helps us to understand other perspectives. Come listen in as award-winning authors discuss the importance of addressing some of the most critical social issues of our time in realistic yet compelling ways, creating page-turners that may just change the way you look at the world.

ANASTASIA ZADEIK is a writer, editor, storyteller, and long-time resident of Mission Hills. After graduating from Smith College, she had an international career in neuropsychological research while raising her children. She now serves as Director of Communications for the San Diego Writers Festival and as a mentor for the literary nonprofit So Say We All. She also sits on the board of the International Memoir Writers Association.

Her debut novel, Blurred Fates, won the 2023 Sarton Award for Contemporary Fiction and the 2023 National Indie Excellence Award in Contemporary Fiction. Kirkus Reviews called her second novel, The Other Side of Nothing, “a stunning story about mental illness and its challenges." It will be released on May 28, 2024. When she isn’t reading, writing, or practicing yoga, she enjoys hanging out with her husband and their empty-nest rescue dog, Charlie.

Watch videos of her storytelling performances and learn more at www.anastasiazadeik.com.

JJ ELLIOTT is an advertising copywriter and author of the novel, There Are No Rules For This—two-time Zibby Owens Award winner for Best Book That Made You Cry and Best Book For Best Friends. She lost her mother to suicide as a teenager, and spent over two years volunteering on the suicide hotlines in LA. One of the reasons she wanted to write her novel is because she finds herself increasingly frustrated by the way suicide is treated in print and on-screen, as a mystery to be solved rather than a multi-layered, complex mental health situation that can rarely be boiled down to one specific "reason.” A native of Northern California, JJ now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two teenage kids, and two poorly trained bulldogs. She loves to read, drink wine, play tennis, and eat cheese. 

Learn more about JJ at www.jjelliott.com.

Accessibility

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