ST. PETERSBURG, FL —A new virtual book club with a focus on mental health and wellness launches Thursday through Tombolo Books in St. Petersburg.
Reading the Mind is a book discussion club facilitated by licensed clinical social worker/practitioner Lindsey Epperson.
“I think book clubs are really interesting exercises in both solitude and community, which are two things that I am really interested in,” Epperson told Patch.
Epperson was influenced to create a mental health and wellness book club when she started working in private practice at Sunshine City Counseling after moving to St. Pete about a year ago. Before that she lived in Athens, Georgia, where she practiced as a licensed therapist.
“We wanted to do some kind of community building type collaboration with Tombolo,” said Epperson, who started shopping at Tombolo Books shortly after she moved to the area.
A goal Epperson has for this book club is to build a community of learning and discussion around mental health and wellness. She would also like to see it nurture its members.
“I think the more people that can be involved and read about other people’s experiences, and be able to relate to them and have a place that is safe to talk about the subject as a whole, helps with building empathy and breaking that stigma on mental illness,” said Epperson.
Members of the book club will explore books about the brain, which could include memoirs, narrative non-fiction, uplifting stories and new strategies for an understanding of the mind, Tombolo Books said on its website.
Book members will discuss “Little Panic: Dispatches from an Anxious Life,” by Amanda Stern at the inaugural meeting. This book is Stern’s memoir that focuses on living with severe anxiety and attachment issues from childhood throughout adulthood.
There is no cost to join this book club.
Meetings are scheduled for every other month on the first Thursday from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
To RSVP, please email [email protected] for a Zoom link.
For more information about the event, visit Tombolo Books.