Equal Opportunity Reading and Mental Health Representation in Books with Anastasia Zadeik (E85)
Anastasia Zadeik is a writer, editor, and narrative nonfiction storyteller. She had a career in international neuropsychological research while raising her children. Her debut novel, Blurred Fates, won the 2023 Sarton Award for Contemporary Fiction and the 2023 National Indie Excellence Award in Contemporary Fiction. Her second novel, The Other Side of Nothing, which Kirkus called “a stunning story about mental illness and its challenges,” will be released May 28. Anastasia serves as Director of Communications for the San Diego Writers Festival, on the board of the International Memoir Association, and as a mentor and performer for the literary nonprofit So Say We All.
In this episode, Anastasia and I covered alot. We talked about the importance of reading to create empathy and understanding, mental health representation in books and reducing the stigma of mental health and the tough conversations. Anastasia calls herself an equal opportunity reader and I absolutely love it! Her book flight today focuses on books set in the publishing world and sound delightful. Happy listening!
You can connect with Anastasia at the links below:
To purchase Anastasia’s books:
You can listen to the full episode HERE.
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Show Notes
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Books and authors mentioned in the episode:
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
Unholy Ghost: Writers on Depression by Nell Casey
Manic by Terry Cheney
An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness by Kay Redfield Jamison
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari
Happy at Any Cost by Kirsten Grind and Katherine Sayre
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Composing a Life by Mary Catherine Bateson
Mao’s Last Dance by Li Cunxin
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
Book Flight
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
Blank by Zibby Owens
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
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