This Is How I Find Her by Sara Polsky is a YA novel about a Sophie, whose mother suffers from bipolar disorder and has just tried to kill herself. Sophie is the one who finds her. She's spent her life caring for her mother, and keeping the situation secret from everyone. After her mother's incident, she stays with her aunt, uncle and cousin while waiting for her mom to be released from the hospital. She hasn't had anything to do with these family members in five years. Now, with nowhere else to turn, Sophie learns more about her mother, and how to build her own life.
This was gutwrenching- having had two friends go through with suicide while being in mixed state, it threw me back. Somewhere I didn't particularly want to revisit. This Is How I Find Her deals with mental illness in a way that is real, but also accessible to teens. It is a very hard topic, but this novel conveys the issue from very many angles. From dealing with mental illness and crappy insurance, to the side effects of a drug that's supposed to help, to how the illness affects those around you. There's learning to let others in, as well as becoming the person you're meant to be. Being broken, and the process of hope and healing.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in or affected by mental illness, as well as anyone interested in heavy YA fiction. There's also some good stuff regarding art, architecture, and photography.
This Is How I Find Her is published by Albert Whitman & Company. Digital ARC provided by NetGalley.
Release Date: 09.01.2013
