Changing Stereotypes about Mental Health in Safe Harbor, a guest post by Padma Venkatraman

At the NCTE conference this November, I mentioned to an educator that the mom in my latest novel, SAFE HARBOR, is the kind I’ve yet to meet in young people’s literature: a mom who lives with depression and anxiety and is also a strong human being who lives life to the full and a life filled with love. I like this character a LOT. Probably because I am somewhat like her.
I live with depression and anxiety; and I’m an awesome parent. At least, I think I am and so does my spouse. Ask my teen, and you might get a different answer (but I’m ignoring that for now).
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I love that we in the world of young people’s literature are increasingly portraying mental health issues in a respectful manner – such as in the short story collection Ab(solutely) Normal: Short Stories That Smash Mental Health Stereotypes; Mirror to Mirror by Rajani LaRocca; Rain, Rising by Courtne Comre and Octopus Moon (forthcoming from Nancy Paulsen books in 2025) by Bobbie Pyron. And I cannot say enough about how instrumental the Teen Librarian Toolbox has been in speaking openly about mental health or how vital and affirming that is.



However, although there are many books for young people that provide positive depictions of young protagonists with mental health issues, one stereotype persists. We still see way too many parents with depression, often as secondary characters, who completely check out of their children’s lives and are then blamed for doing so. It’s upsetting every time I come across this stereotype – because it’s damaging. How are children with mental health issues supposed to believe the message that they can have great families and careers if we continue to bombard them with adult characters facing these same issues who are depicted as “failures” or “burdens” or “problems” or “bad parents”?
In Safe Harbor, the protagonist Geetha, has a mom who defies this depressed parent stereotype. Instead of perpetuating the myth that an adult with depression can’t properly take care of themselves (let alone anyone else), she takes charge of her life and makes sound decisions to change it for the better. Even just hearing Geetha’s mom laugh with her daughter in Safe Harbor breaks the stereotype that people who experience depression are constantly sad. People with depression are capable of feeling the whole range of emotions. Portraying us as Eeyores who are always utterly gloomy and drowning in unrelieved sadness is wrong. And it reduces the experience of depression to a monolith, entirely ignoring the fact that there’s also an entire range of depression, anxiety and other mental health issues, let alone (mis)understanding the whole spectrum of mental illness.
When we depict people with depression as somehow “less” than others – whether that relates to how they feel or what they do – we are demeaning and disrespecting them. While depression can be debilitating – I definitely don’t want to minimize its seriousness – it’s important for readers to meet role models who successfully manage their mental health and manage to achieve their familial and career ambitions, too, as Geetha’s mom does. In her case, she uses a variety of methods to stay in good mental health: drawing upon her Indian traditions of yoga and meditation, as well as taking advantage of Western techniques such as talk therapy and medication. Geetha’s mom is strong, not weak; intelligent, not incapable; and most of all she is able to give her daughter love and support, rather than merely being at the receiving end of it. The challenges she faces don’t stop her from moving overseas, just like they didn’t stop me. She feels lucky and blessed, just as I do.
So, while Geetha’s mom isn’t the main character in Safe Harbor, I certainly see her as one of the most important characters in the novel. Those of us who live with mental health challenges as adults are aware that even today, severe stigmas persist. I feel scared as I write these lines, even in the warm and inclusive space afforded by the Teen Librarian Toolbox, because it feels risky and difficult to speak honestly and openly about my own mental health.
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But whenever I hear from educators and librarians who feel deeply affirmed by Geetha’s mom, I feel immensely rewarded. One of the greatest gifts that Safe Harbor has already started to give me is the promise that this character will broaden the safe harbor we need to fully include and respect adults with chronic, recurring or persistent challenges to mental health. And I hope that when young people meet this character, it will help them question and topple exclusionary and deprecating rhetoric that still surrounds the topic of depression, anxiety and other mental health issues.
Meet the author

Padma Venkatraman (padmavenkatraman.com) was born in India and became an American after living in five countries and working as an oceanographer. She also wrote Born Behind Bars (South Asia Book Award, Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People), The Bridge Home (Walter Award, Golden Kite Award, Global Read-Aloud), A Time to Dance (IBBY selection, ALA Notable), Island’s End (CCBC Choice, South Asia Book Award), and Climbing the Stairs (ALA/Amelia Bloomer List, Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People). She lives in Rhode Island.
Links:
Link to website: padmavenkatraman.com
Link to pre-order book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/647197/safe-harbor-by-padma-venkatraman/
Link to Twitter: https://x.com/padmatv/
Link to Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/venkatraman.padma/
Link to book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/211953347-safe-harbor?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=S5UnkRTzUj&rank=1
Link to Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/venkatraman.padma/
About Safe Harbor
An uplifting novel in verse about an immigrant girl adjusting to life in the US through her love of nature, music, and poetry, by the award-winning author of The Bridge Home
When Geetha and her mom move from India to Rhode Island after her parents’ divorce, they leave everything Geetha loves behind—her family, her friends, her dog, and all that’s familiar. As if that’s not hard enough, Geetha is bullied at her new school for her clothes, her food, and her English (who knew so many English words could be spelled or pronounced differently in the US—or just be altogether different!). She finds some solace in playing her flute and writing poetry, and even more when she meets Miguel, a kid with whom she has a lot in common, and the two of them help rescue an injured harp seal stranded on the beach. But Geetha can feel her anger building over lots of things—careless people who pollute the sea and hurt animals, and her mom for making her move. She’s never been so sad and angry. She can see a lot of her fears mirrored in the injured seal when she visits it at the Marine Mammal Rehabilitation Center, and this broadens her understanding of survival skills. And when she and Miguel start a beach-clean-up venture, she’s surprised to find how many kind kids are out there. Geetha is torn as the time comes to let the seal go, knowing she’ll miss him, but wanting the best for him. She’s learning to live with mixed feelings and accept that while there will always be rough waters, there are plenty of safe harbors too.
ISBN-13: 9780593112502
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date: 01/21/2025
Age Range: 10 – 12 Years
Filed under: Guest Post

About Amanda MacGregor
Amanda MacGregor works in an elementary library, loves dogs, and can be found on BlueSky at @amandamacgregor.bsky.social.
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