From following John Green's various creative pursuits over the years, I see so much of him in this book - in the setting of Indianapolis, the White river, in the Dr Pepper and the poems he chose to feature. More than these little snippets of his life, though, I suspect this novel is also an intensely personal depiction of his own experience with OCD. No shallow, movie-style depiction of obsessive thoughts and compulsive rituals here...you get such a sense of the infuriating loss of control, the intensity of the obsession, the absolute all-consuming terror - this is the kind of OCD that I see in the people I work with, the kind that can ruin relationships and send you to hospital for your own safety.

There are a couple of pretty consistent criticisms with TATWD that I think are worth addressing, from my perspective as a psychologist who works with young people. First, Aza's reluctance to take medication, which some see as a refusal to get help. This is entirely consistent with Aza's form of OCD though - being fearful of taking the medication is part of her illness, as so many of her obsessive thoughts centre around the question of the self. Second, Daisy's character is sometimes seen as cruel and unsympathetic, but I want to applaud John Green's willingness to sensitively explore how hard it is to be the loved one of a person with a serious mental illness. I've seen parents give up custody of their children over mental health challenges, let alone a best friend have to find a creative outlet to cope, and admit that sometime's Aza's OCD is hard to deal with. This, to me, was human and honest and sad, but ultimately hopeful - because by confronting the wounds, they were able to understand each other, both try to be there for each other better, and remain friends.

Overall, probably one of the best own-voices novels on mental health I've ever read.