Romanticizing Alcoholism

Reflecting on addiction and mental health in literature.

Photo by Michelle Ding on Unsplash

I’ve just finished reading two mystery novels with an interesting parallel: Both featured a protagonist struggling with their mental health.

In one book, the main character was an alcoholic, and in the other, the lead was plagued by OCD and anxiety.

What interested me, however, was how differently the two authors wrote about mental health. One seemed to romanticize mental illness, while the other offered a far more realistic portrayal.