It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini is a book about hope and love. This book is about a 15-year-old named Craig who has an amazingly bright future ahead of him but the only thing holding him back is the gloomy cloud above his head: depression. Craig has friends and family who love him and he is about to be enrolled in an amazing college prep school. His life seems like it’s going straight uphill, until one day when he has the worst day yet and goes to the Golden Gate Bridge to contemplate suicide. He fights against his inner demons and decides to go to the hospital to be checked in to the psychiatric ward. Due to Craig being underaged his parents have to come. They let him stay at the facility for a week to help him overcome his depression. From then on, he boards an emotional roller coaster and meets a funky group of friends who he comes to know and love.

The book has been turned into a musical, and one of the lines from one of its songs “In the Atmosphere” is “It’s alright to not be alright.” Sometimes you aren’t alright but it is ok because everyone has those days where they don’t want to get out of bed but it’s alright.

I first read this book during my sophomore year and for the first time, I didn’t feel alone. I kept reading and realizing that I had found someone that I could relate to and help me through my hardships even if they were fictional. I think many high schoolers who experience the weighing pressures of depression should read this to help them see they also aren’t alone. 20 percent of teens suffer from depression, but only 30 percent of them are being treated. I am one of the lucky ones, but many don’t have the privilege I do.

Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in teens and has only gone up over the past ten years, so why are we not doing anything about the epidemic? Some of the reasons why teens don’t speak up are because they don’t want anyone knowing the internal struggle they are going through. They end up just feeling alone and not knowing what to do. Parents need to start recognizing the signs of depression in teens. Some signs include a decline in academics, a loss of love for the things they used to do and a disregard for personal appearance. These are not always the case but it is a good indicator to seeing someone who has depression.

Life is not always easy and at times it is very hard but what I and It’s kind of a Funny Story have said, life is hard but it is worth living.

“Life can’t be cured, but it can be managed.”

-Ned Vizzini, author of It’s Kind of a Funny Story