SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About TLT
  • Reviews
    • Book Reviews
    • A to Z Book Lists
    • Book Review Policy
  • Teen Issues
  • Middle Grade Mondays
  • Programs
    • TPiB
    • Tech Talk
  • Professional
    • Teen Services 101
    • Things We Didn’t Learn in Library School
  • MakerSpace
  • Projects
    • #SVYALit
    • #FSYALit
    • #MHYALit
    • #Poverty in YA Lit

January 19, 2016 by Amanda MacGregor

#MHYALit: The Story is Enough: Writing the Books I Needed to Read, a guest post by Jackie Lea Sommers

January 19, 2016 by Amanda MacGregor   Leave a Comment

Today as part of our #MHYALit discussion, we are happy to welcome YA author Jackie Lea Sommers, who discusses solipsism syndrome, OCD, and writing the characters she needed to encounter when she was a teen. 

 

In high school, my friends’ refrain was “Jackie, you think too much!” It was true. Not only was I a dreamer, a writer, and dramatically romantic, I also had undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder that kept a continual civil war going on between me and my own mind for about twenty years. This would venture from time to time into the realms of solipsism syndrome, a type of depersonalization disorder where I would question reality.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

 

I was a voracious reader, but I never seemed to encounter myself in any of the books I read. Anne of Green Gables had my overblown romanticism and flowery vocabulary, but she wasn’t traveling down strange, existential paths as a teen.

 

truestI didn’t even know that solipsism syndrome was a real thing until I was in my twenties, at which point I knew I wanted to write about it. In Truest, my first novel, readers encounter a trio of teens—and they are all me. Westlin Beck, the narrator, is a pastor’s daughter trying to navigate faith in an environment where it’s been forced upon her. She loves stories more than anything in the world. Her small-town life is shaken up by Silas Hart, who is a young poet—a “human thesaurus”—who pushes his ideas to their breaking points. His twin sister Laurel has solipsism syndrome; she is deeply wounded and desperate for truth.

 

 

 

These are the characters I needed to meet when I was a teen. To encounter myself would have meant the world to me. Sometimes YA authors are criticized for crafting “unrealistic” teens—expansive vocabulary, sophisticated thought patterns—but when I read those characters I think, “Me, me, me! That was me!” I know there are others.

 

Right now, I’m working on a second novel that will be published summer 2017, a story about a teenager with undiagnosed OCD. It’s been therapeutic to write—and I feel a genuine obligation to usher the main character toward healing. Although his obsessive themes are quite different from mine, the compulsions are very similar. For both of us, OCD is nearly unrecognizable from the way media so often portrays the disorder, and that’s really important to me. Growing up, I had a limited idea of what OCD looked like: a neat freak, most likely, probably someone who washed his or her hands a lot. This tremendously one-dimensional understanding of OCD kept me in slavery for so many years. I’m trying to write the book that I needed to encounter in high school, one where I could have recognized myself.

 

I have to walk a bit of tightrope to keep myself from “preaching” about OCD, but I remind myself that the story is enough. The story is always enough.

 

Meet Jackie Lea Sommers

Jackie Lea Sommers headshot smallJackie Lea Sommers lives and loves and writes in Minnesota, the home Duck Duck Gray Duck and passive-aggressiveness. She’s the 2013 winner of the Katherine Paterson Prize for Young Adult Writing and the communications director for OCD Twin Cities, an affiliate of the International OCD Foundation. TRUEST is her first novel. She writes about creativity and OCD at www.jackieleasommers.com.

 

 

About TRUEST:

A breathtaking debut brings us the unforgettable story of a small-town love, big dreams, and family drama.

Silas Hart has seriously shaken up Westlin Beck’s small-town life. Brand-new to town, Silas is different from the guys in Green Lake. He’s curious, poetic, philosophical, maddening—and really, really cute. But Silas has a sister—and she has a secret. And West has a boyfriend. And life in Green Lake is about to change forever.

Truest is a stunning, addictive debut. Romantic, fun, tender, and satisfying, it asks as many questions as it answers. Perfect for fans of The Fault in Our Stars and Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have).

HarperCollins, 2015

 

SEE ALL OF THE #MHYALIT POSTS HERE

Filed under: #MHYALit

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
#MHYALitJackie Lea SommersMental HealthOCDSolipsism syndrome

About Amanda MacGregor

Amanda MacGregor works in an elementary library, loves dogs, and can be found on Twitter @CiteSomething.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

July 2020

RevolTeens: Helping Teens Through Revolting Times, by Christine Lively

by Amanda MacGregor

July 2020

Morgan's Mumbles: Healthy Habits, by teen contributor Morgan Randall

by Amanda MacGregor

March 2020

Sunday Reflections: The Kids are Not Alright, Alright, Alright

by Amanda MacGregor

June 2019

The Weight of Our Words: Reflections on how we talk about mental health and why it matters

by Amanda MacGregor

May 2018

Twin Cities Teen Lit Con 2018: Mental Health in YA Literature Presentation

by Amanda MacGregor

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Surprise! Announcing CABOOSE

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Jump Into this Guest Post by Shadra Strickland About Her Latest Book: Jump In!

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Kiss Number 8 | Review

by Johanna

Heavy Medal

What’s Coming in 2023, A Feedback Poll, and Goodbye for Now…

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

WRITING FOR YOURSELF FIRST, a guest post by author M. K. Lobb

by Karen Jensen, MLS

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

37 Kidlit and YA Titles in Honor of Hispanic Heritage Month

Board Book Evolution: No Longer 'Just for Babies'

21 Books About Children and their Names

Pronouncing Kids’ Names Correctly Matters. Here’s How to Get it Right.

The Human Rainbow | Dr. Ibram X. Kendi on Antiracism

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023