Not just during lockdown but during life’s setbacks and my own bouts with depression. Falling asleep to comedy podcasts and consuming memoirs written by humorists, comedians, and comedic actors made for excellent medicine.

The comedic memoir can (and should) be hilarious, but it is also, typically, deeply poignant. It is said (though attribution varies) that “Comedy is tragedy plus time.” If you want to understand mental illness better and laugh while you learn, or if you experience any kind of mental illness and need to feel less alone and could use a serotonin boost, I recommend the following humorous media as balm . . .