BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month: 14 Fiction Books

This is a repost from July 2020. The article includes minor edits and four additional books have been added to the list.

Bebe Moore Campbell was an author, educator, and advocate for mental health awareness, especially in the Black community. Her advocacy journey began after finally accepting the diagnosis that a family member had a mental illness. She states in this talk that she was initially “ashamed, embarrassed, and…didn’t want to talk about it.” Campbell’s immense contribution toward destigmatizing mental illness includes helping to organize the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Urban Los Angeles Chapter. She also wrote the picture book, Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry (Putnam, E. B. Lewis, 2003) and the adult novel 72 Hour Hold (Knopf, 2005). In both books, a character suffers from bipolar disorder. In 2008 the U.S. House of Representatives recognized her work and designated July as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. One of the goals was to “improve access to mental health treatment and services and promote public awareness of mental illness.”

Instead of using the term “minority” in the name of the monthly observance, some mental health organizations are using BIPOC, which stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Find out why here. However, let’s continue to honor and appreciate Bebe Moore Campbell’s tireless efforts to educate the Black community about mental illness issues. The stories listed for BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month are all fiction and include a character (not always the main character) who suffers from some form of mental illness–depression, anxiety, etc. Hopefully, the stories and the links included in this article will lead someone to seek support for themselves or a loved one.

Also, enjoy this “What’s Your Story?” feature of self-published author, Dr. Melissa Munro Boyd, author of B is for Breathe: The ABCs of Coping with Fussy & Frustrating Feelings.

1. Off the Record

2. The Cost of Knowing

3. Some Other Now

4. Before the Ever After

5. Black Girl Unlimited: The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard

6. Home Home

7. Who Put This Song On?

8. The Voice in My Head

9. When the Stars Lead to You

10. The Beauty That Remains

11. Black Beach

12. Little & Lion

13. Charm & Strange

14. Hush

If you believe BCBA provides a valuable service, please take a few minutes to donate and support our mission to promote awareness of children’s and young adult literature by Black authors.

Amazon/Bookshop/IndieBound Disclosure: BCBA is a participant in the Amazon, Bookshop, and IndieBound Affiliate Programs. The affiliate programs offer participants the opportunity to earn fees by linking to Amazon, Bookshop, and IndieBound websites. Clicking on the book links will direct you away from this site. Thanks for your support!