For the protagonist in Fahrenheit 451, books were the key to knowledge and finding yourself. In the novel, Montag read The Book Of Ecclesiastes which in turn opened new doors for him by showing him that reading isn 't dangerous and helping him become included in the group of intellectuals. For me, the book that opened new doors was It’s Kind Of A Funny Story by Ned Vizzini and it showed me the importance of balancing my priorities in my life and valuing my mental health. To put the story in a quick summary, a boy named Craig Gilner decides to attempt suicide because of his crippling depression but instead calls a crisis service and spends the rest of the book in an adult psychiatric hospital where he meets those who are more or less like him in some way. Despite going through a multitude of mental ups and downs, in the end he goes back home with a better grip on handling his depressive tendencies. While he was in the hospital, he was constantly worrying about his …show more content…
When Craig tells his friends where he’s at, many respond by saying they are depressed too and that they take medication to help treat it. While Craig’s friends are on the most part supportive and understanding, some of his friends react harshly and treat him differently which also showed me a realistic reaction that many people have to mental disorders. This novel was very enjoyable for me to read. It opens by saying, “It’s so hard to talk when you want to kill yourself.” which was an amazing attention grabber. The novel explores how depression really feels which despite the unsettling topic, made me extremely grateful. Craig tells his doctor, “I waste at least an hour every day laying in bed. Then I waste time pacing. I waste time thinking” (Vizzini 15) which is exactly how depression feels. It isn’t just being