Becoming Unstuck

In this essay, I reflect on my reading experience with Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five and examine how the novel could serve as a mentor text for therapeutic writing, specifically when it comes to mental health writing. I place Vonnegut’s writing in the context of the current mental health crisis and examine his use of time, tone, and the speculative in order to express the protagonist’s experiences with mental health and trauma. Others who wish to use writing as a therapeutic tool and as a mode to share their experiences may use Slaughterhouse-Five to amplify their own work. Finally, I advocate that—despite the stigma surrounding mental health stories—our stories must be shared for both their personal and public benefit.