The Words We Keep

By: Erin Stewart

Narrated by: Phoebe Strole

2023 Schneider Family Book Award, Winner

WINNER OF THE SCHNEIDER FAMILY BOOK AWARD FOR TEENS!

A beautifully realistic, relatable story about mental health—anxiety, perfectionism, depression—and the healing powers of art—perfect for fans of Girl in Pieces and How it Feels to Float. Whatever you struggle with, you are not alone and you are already enough—just the way you are.

It's been three months since The Night on the Bathroom Floor--when Lily found her older sister Alice hurting herself. Ever since then, Lily has been desperately trying to keep things together, for herself and for her family. But now Alice is coming home from her treatment program and it is becoming harder for Lily to ignore all of the feelings she's been trying to outrun.

Enter Micah, a new student at school with a past of his own. He was in treatment with Alice and seems determined to get Lily to process not only Alice's experience, but her own. Because Lily has secrets, too. Compulsions she can't seem to let go of and thoughts she can't drown out.

When Lily and Micah embark on an art project for school involving finding poetry in unexpected places, she realizes that it's the words she's been swallowing that desperately want to break through.

"A tender, heartfelt, and realistic look at mental illness, familial love, and finding your voice."—Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces

©2022 Erin Stewart (P)2022 Listening Library

Critic reviews

A SCHNEIDER FAMILY BOOK AWARD FOR TEENS WINNER!

"A sprawling, engrossing read, Stewart’s latest succeeds in mapping out the toll of anxiety disorder with scrupulous, cleareyed detail. Above all, however, there’s an overpowering sense of hope underlined by an achingly sincere message: Speak up and get help if needed. Indispensably candid."—Kirkus, starred review

"An excellent choice."—SLJ, starred review

“In Lily’s frank, forthcoming voice, Stewart mingles Lily’s love of words—blackout poetry, social media posts coining terms that should exist—with specific descriptions of anxiety disorder-related distress that will resonate with many readers.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

Helped me understand my mental health

I found myself relating to things Lily would do, think, say. I was able to understand myself more by listening to Lily’s story. It’s a really well written book and i would recommend!

TRUTH

this book was so relatable. These thoughts are often impossible to express much less get people to understand how it feels.

Amazing

This book made me relate so well to my anxiety and depression. This book makes you feel like your feelings are real, valid and known. This book was the best book I’ve ever read. It had so many different plots, anxiety, depression, self harm, love, heartbreaks and drama but real like scenarios. 10/10 

Recommended

This is not a genre I usually read but I really enjoyed the author's previous work. Wonderfully complex characters on a just as intricate journey. The subject matter could be heavy and yet I also found myself laughing out loud (not at the same moments). I do not write many reviews but felt compelled to recommend this, Erin Stewart is a national treasure.

Someone Gets Me

It's like Erin was in my head. I didn't know someone could articulate so well the monsters in a person's head. The book was engaging. A few times it triggered my own anxiety but it was also therapeutic. I'm grateful Erin has written such a marvelous book.

Annoying protagonist, great narration

Having a mental illness doesn’t necessarily make a person/character likable or sympathetic. It does add context to behavior and make empathy possible. THE WORDS WE KEEP felt, to me, like a book that tried to hard to be The Perfect Book About Mental Illness.

Lily finds her beloved older sister Alice slitting her wrists. Traumatized and nervous about Alice’s return from treatment, Lily worries about her own mental health. She’s partnered for a school project with Micah, a patient at Alice’s treatment center. Upon returning home, Alice seems a shell of her former self. As her mood improves Lily learns her sister stopped taking her meds just as Lily and Micah grow closer.

Erin Stewart is a great wordsmith, which was my favorite part of THE WORDS WE KEEP.

Lily. Initially likable, becomes more narcissistic throughout the story, focused only on herself and forgetting that she’s not the only person in her life. She lies to her best friend about things that she could have been truthful. Lily is careless with others’ feelings and generally doesn’t consider others have difficult *stuff* in their lives. I understood that she was overwhelmed, emotionally neglected by her only living parent and new stepmom and dealing with her own worries about mental health. Of course, she’s the MOST creative, talented poet, a superstar who doesn’t want others to know her struggles. I’m very glad Stewart didn’t write Lily as the perfect sister and I don’t need likable narrators, I wish she was a little less manic pixie girl. Okay, a lot less.

The narration was spot on, the best part of the reading/listening experience.