The ‘lifesaving’ 2018 “Reading well for mental health” titles by The Reading Agency and Society of Chief Librarians were announced at a flagship event at the Wellcome Trust on Tuesday 5 June 2018.

Each title offers invaluable support to people with mental health needs, and their carers, who are at increased risk of loneliness according to recent research.

 “Initiatives like this make people with mental health conditions and their carers feel less lonely.” Sathnam Sanghera (Reading Well author, “The Boy with the Topknot”)

2018’s powerful book list, which will help people read well to stay well, is penned by bestselling and highly-regarded authors including Matt Haig (How to Stay Alive), Cathy Rentzenbrink (A Manual for Heartache), Sathnam Sanghera (The Boy with the Topknot), Ruby Wax (A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled) and many more. The expert-endorsed reads are available free in Shropshire libraries, as well as in other participating libraries across England.

The list is curated with mental health experts, and includes books to support people undergoing talking therapies, as well as guided and unguided self-help.

This year the government appointed a minister for loneliness to address the growing ‘loneliness epidemic’, and in April 2018 the Office for National Statistics released a report raising awareness of the link between health and isolation. People with a health condition are 56% more likely to report loneliness than those without, and those with caring responsibilities were 37% more likely to be lonely.

Sathnam Sangher added: “It is said that we read to know we're not alone, and this is especially the case with mental health, one of the most isolating diseases around.”