Literary lessons: Teens write book to tackle mental health challenges
Courtesy of WHS Teen Outreach
An excerpt from the book, “A Road to Better Mental Health,” written by Teen Outreach peer educators. This story, “Darcy Fits In,” was written by Elizabeth Brison, Rowan Curry, Dylen Knox, and Brycen McAdoo and illustrated by McAdoo, tackles bullying and empathy.
An excerpt from the book “A Road to Better Mental Health.” This story, “Ariana Avocado’s First Day At School,” was written by teens Isaiah Dale, Merielle DiGregory, Adelle Hollywood, Hunter Jenkins and Bailey Wheeler and illustrated by Rowan Curry and DiGregory. It addresses social anxiety and communication.
A group of Washington County teens has made it their mission to help elementary schoolchildren cope with mental health challenges, and the high schoolers recently published a book that tackles the topic.
The book, “A Road to Better Mental Health,” is a collection of original stories written and illustrated by teenagers. It will debut at the 26th annual Washington Health System Teen Outreach, held today at the Rotary Pavilion at Washington Park.
“It was, honestly, a wonderful experience. Mental health is something I take really seriously for myself and the people around me. It’s important for everyone, of all ages, to discuss mental health, and doing this for people younger than I am was gratifying,” said Hannah Eisiminger, a junior at Trinity High School who is one of the book’s authors.
Landan Weakland, supervisor of Common Ground Teen Center and a former Teen Outreach peer educator, proposed the idea of teens writing a book in September, following a discussion with Amy Podgurski Gough, coordinator of Teen Outreach’s Adolescent Advisory Board, about the importance of children’s literature in addressing difficult topics.
The 48-page book includes nine stories, written and illustrated by 46 teens representing Avella, Canon-McMillan, Charters-Houston, Charleroi, Ringgold, Trinity, and Washington high schools, along with Teen Outreach peer educators and members of the Adolescent Advisory Board and Common Ground Teen Center.
“It’s so important that all of it – the stories, the illustrations, the ideas for topics – came from them. They know what’s going on in young people’s lives, and in their own lives,” said Podgurski Gough. “It’s important that their voices are heard, and they put pen to paper to do that.”
The topics addressed in the book range from bullying, dishonesty and insecurity to procrastination, social anxiety and worry.
The stories address one of the challenges and provides a coping skill.
“Sporky Finds His Place,” written by Trinity High School students, tells the story of Sporky, a spork trying to fit in and find acceptance at middle school, where his classmates are forks, spoons, and knives.
The story “Finn Finds His Truth,” written by students from Chartiers-Houston High School, addresses dishonesty and promotes integrity. In it, a boy purchases a colorful flower for his mother for Mother’s Day. But when people in town ask Finn where he got the flower, he lies and tells them he grew it himself.
Each time he lies, a colorful petal fall off the flower and turns gray, along with everything in Finn’s world that was that color. The blue sky, for instance, turns gray. When Finn finally tells the truth, all of the petals that had fallen off the plant sprouted again, and Finn could see all the colors in his world.
“It’s a very rewarding experience to be a part of something that reaches into the community,” said Chartiers-Houston High School senior and advisory board member Desiree Hancq, one of the authors of “Finn Finds His Truth.”
She, along with the five other authors and the illustrator brainstormed to find a relatable way to show the impact that untruthfulness has.
The group read the story to second-graders at Allison Elementary School, and Hancq was thrilled at the children’s response.
“They loved it. It was really rewarding to see the kids’ reaction, and it was even more rewarding to see their reaction when we told them we wrote it,” said Hancq. “We discussed how, in the end, it’s always better to tell the truth. The kids were blown away by (illustrator) Kelly Alderson’s artistic talent. It’s rewarding to know this is going to be published, and that kids outside of school will read it and, hopefully, benefit from it.”
The book, said Podgurski Gough, is timely.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Children’s Hospital Association joined together to declare a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health in the fall of 2021.
In a statement, the health professionals declared that they have witnessed soaring rates of mental health challenges among children, adolescents, and their families over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has worsened a situation that existed prior to the pandemic.
Additionally, in December 2021, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a Surgeon General’s Advisory to highlight the urgent need to address the nation’s youth mental health crisis.
And a survey released in March by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 44% of high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, and nearly 20% reported seriously considering suicide in the previous 12 months.
“Adolescence is a time of change, uncertainty, growing up, and the pandemic has made all of that so much more challenging,” said Podgurski Gough.
Eisiminger said she has had friends who have struggled with mental health.
“In high school, there’s a lot of stress about applying to colleges, taking tests, keeping grades up. It’s important for me to be there for my friends and for other people, too, who are struggling,” she said.
The book was produced with the aid of a $5,000 start-up grant provided by Staunton Farms Foundation. Range Resources provided funding for the teen conference.
School districts participating in the teen conference, along with school districts whose students served as authors and illustrators, will receive copies of the book. The teen authors and illustrators plan to read the books to elementary students in their school districts.
At the conference, several of the authors will lead speed-learning sessions built around “A Road to Better Mental Health, where they teach a lesson and do a corresponding activity with ninth-graders from nine Washington County school districts, who will rotate through the sessions.
Eisiminger said she is happy to have an impact on others through the teen conference, and enjoyed writing the book.
“It was satisfying,” said Eisiminger. “Honestly, when would I ever get the chance to write a children’s book? It was an enjoyable and unique experience.”
”A Road to Better Mental Health” will be available for purchase on Amazon.