Sharing stories openly and vulnerably

This blog post is brought to you by Morgen D. of the Synapse Team and Niki G. of the Biblio Lotus Team.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. To commemorate this observance, the Library’s Biblio Lotus and Synapse teams are spotlighting two mental health memoirs written by the our most recently featured authors. Though their backgrounds and lived experiences differ, these authors demonstrate the powerful effect of sharing our stories openly and vulnerably. Impactful books such as these help communicate to others that they are not alone, should they find themselves struggling with their mental health. 

Phoenix Girl

May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. Many Asian Americans would be surprised to find the concept of “mental health awareness” and mention of celebrating Asian American heritage in the same sentence. In much of the Asian American community, acknowledging mental health challenges is frowned upon, especially by Asian American parents who immigrated to America. There are very few AANHPI books or memoirs that delve deeply into mental health issues, which makes Michelle Yang’s debut book, Phoenix Girl: How a Fat Asian with Bipolar Found Love even more special. In her memoir, Michelle writes candidly about her mental health journey, and her vulnerability allows readers who have struggled with similar challenges to identify with her story.

When Michelle’s book was first published in 2025, she spoke with the Biblio Lotus team about the importance of sharing her experiences, and the process of writing her memoir. Read her full interview with Niki G., chair of Biblio Lotus, here: Phoenix Girl - A Conversation with Michelle Yang, and view the conversation on Pima County Public Library’s YouTube channel here: Michelle Yang - Author Video Interview.

Yellow Chair Collective (YCC), a mental health organization that spreads the message of inclusion “Everyone is welcome to take a seat on our yellow chair of compassion and acceptance” also interviewed Michelle Yang for their book club. YCC’s focus lies in serving Asian American and multicultural clients, but their specialty team is also trained in and practices culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and LGBTQIA+-affirming counseling and psychotherapy services. All are welcome, regardless of race, culture, religion, sexuality, gender orientation, disability, or immigration status. You can listen to Michelle’s interviews with one of YCC’s Asian American licensed therapists here:  YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

Now that it has been a year since Michelle’s book debuted, the Biblio Lotus team checked in with her to inquire after her experience sharing her story at countless venues over the past year, including at Tucson Festival of Books. “The most impactful part of this past year has been hearing from readers—both in person and online— about how deeply Phoenix Girl resonated with them,” she says. “I wrote the book for those who are struggling, in the hope they might feel less alone, and it means so much to know that my dream was realized, not only here in the U.S., but reaching readers in China, Australia, and Europe.”

We are delighted to share that Michelle has begun working on the audiobook for Phoenix Girl, which she is narrating herself. “It will be some time before it’s ready, but I’m very excited that the process is underway.”

Poets Square

In October 2025, via an event timed to commemorate World Mental Health Day (October 10), the Synapse Team hosted its inaugural author talk featuring debut author and true multi-hyphenate Courtney Gustafson, who is also a local cat rescuer, community organizer, and creator of @PoetsSquareCats on Instagram and TikTok.

When Courtney moved into an old house in Tucson’s Poets Square neighborhood, she quickly realized that the property she was renting was home to a colony of feral cats who would, in time, have a life-altering impact on her mental health, transform her life, and become part of her family—a journey chronicled in her book Poets Square: A Memoir in 30 Cats. Going beyond the introspection of a typical memoir, Courtney’s work truly embodies a love letter to community and explores what her encounters with feral cats can teach us all about care (both of self and of others), connectedness and the power of hope.

Courtney describes the decision to share candidly about her mental health journey as follows: “A lot of [the mental health topics in the book], especially references to disordered eating and self-esteem, weren’t part of the original proposal for the book. I would go into an essay draft planning to write a cat story, and I would find myself stumped, like I couldn’t figure out what story I was actually trying to tell, or why it mattered. And inevitably, every time I hit that block, it turned out to be because there was something I was trying to avoid saying. There were parts of myself I was trying to leave out. I went into writing the memoir thinking I could curate myself as a character in it, that I could avoid publishing some of the things that felt too personal. But it became the obvious trick, every time I couldn’t puzzle out what I was trying to do in an essay, or every time I read back my own draft, and it sounded flat: the answer was to be more honest about myself in it. Confront the thing I was trying to say. The result was writing about a lot of things I hadn’t initially planned to, and parts of that were uncomfortable, but at some point in writing a memoir you have to accept that you’re putting a version of yourself into a published, physical object that will exist in the world, and people will do what they want with it.”

Confronting her discomfort has paid off: “The response has been incredible,” Courtney says. “The book has gotten a lot of praise for its vulnerability, and so many readers have reached out personally to tell me how they’ve connected with it. I think writing a memoir and trying to censor yourself in it is like going to therapy but lying to your therapist: you can do it if you want, but what’s the point? If you’re going to do it, you might as well bare it all.” Read her full interview with Morgen D., co-chair of the Synapse team, here: “Poets Square” – a chat with author Courtney Gustafson.

For further AANHPI and Mental Health Awareness Month reading, check out one of the titles on Biblio Lotus and Synapse’s collaborative book list: Mental Health Books for Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Month.

• Ready to connect with a mental health professional? Visit the Pima County Health Department’s You Are Not Alone webpage or COPE Community Services.
• In a crisis? Text HOME to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line.
• Need further support? Call (520) 622-6000 to be connected to the Crisis Response Network.
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: dial or text 988 to be connected immediately to someone who can provide free, confidential support 24/7.
• The Trevor Project provides 24/7 support to the LGBTQIA+ community. Call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678 to be connected to a counselor.