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Roseanne A. Brown’s A Song of Wraiths and Ruin has gained a lot of traction for the author’s brilliant writing, her use of African folk tales as inspiration, and an entire cast of African characters. However, Brown has also surpassed many other authors in her representation of mental illness. Her male narrator, Malik, has extreme anxiety. From needing the strap of his satchel to clutch when he’s nervous about having a complete panic attack in the middle of a crowd, Malik has most of the symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
Contemporary young adult novels often have main characters with mental health issues, but fantasy novels rarely do. Brown was able to portray an anxious character in a setting that lacked modern-day psychology. Malik often uses humor as a coping mechanism without acknowledging that’s what it is. Despite his obvious anxiety, Malik still manages to be the protagonist of the story, wading through magic, ancient beings, and necromancy like any other fantasy protagonist along with the added hardship of fighting his own mind. Malik is a successful representation of mental illness in a genre that, in the majority, fails to do so.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a mental disorder that causes people to be in a constant state of worry over any number of things. It can lead to anxiety attacks and panic attacks that cause hyperventilation, increased heart rate, nausea, insomnia, and even the inability to breathe at all.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, “GAD affects 6.8 million adults, or 3.1% of the U.S. population, in any given year.” (( Anxiety and Depression Association of America )) We cannot be sure that these statistics would have been similar thousands of years ago when A Song of Wraiths and Ruin takes place, but we do know that such disorders have always existed.
Fantasy And Mental Illness
Fantasy novels are often set in “medieval times” or some other distant past where mental illness isn’t something the characters would be aware of, and is therefore often left out. YA fantasy has improved in representation over the years from characters of color to LGBTQIA+ identifying characters to characters with physical disabilities. But mental illness representation is still lagging behind.
In A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, Brown set her fantasy world in an ancient African civilization but acknowledged that anxiety would still have existed even if society didn’t yet have a proper diagnosis for it. Malik presents most of the symptoms of anxiety without outright stating that he has anxiety.
Anxiety In A Song Of Wraiths And Ruin
It was very clear from the beginning that Malik had severe anxiety. When he and his sisters arrive at the gates of Ziran, we see a physical manifestation of his anxiety when
“He twisted the worn leather of his satchel strap until it bit into the flesh of his palm.”
Later on, once the satchel is stolen and he no longer has it, Malik “…instinctively reached for the strap of his missing satchel, then clutched his shirt instead,” which heightens his anxiety instead of calming it like it used to.
Malik also has extreme social anxiety, and usually let’s his older sister, Leila, take over conversations for him. In the beginning, he tries to ask if anyone saw the boy who stole his satchel, but “as always happens when he tries to talk to strangers, the words get stuck in his throat.” But when their younger sister is robbed and he is separated from Leila, Malik has to step up and muscle through his anxiety.
Throughout the novel, Malik uses a mantra to force his anxiety down: Breathe. Stay Present. Stay Here. This coping mechanism is one that many people use today to help themselves focus despite their anxiety, and Brown weaved it into her story in a way that didn’t feel wrong for the time period. After getting caught up in the commotion of the raid and trampled, Malik had an anxiety attack:
“His chest constricted with pain, his breathing labored as the world swam in and out of focus…you’re not breathing, the still-functioning part of his mind said. Ground yourself. Be present. Stay here.
(( Brown, Rosanne A. 2020. A Song of Wraiths and Ruin. New York: Balzer + Bray. ))
Then he forces himself to stand and interact with the girl who saved him from the stampede of the crowd, showing his coping mechanism works for him.
An Anxious Protagonist
Despite his anxiety, Malik still manages to be one of two main protagonists of the novel. He takes it upon himself to save his sister from Idir the obosom, or evil spirit, by killing Princess Karina. He uses his newfound magic at the Choosing Ceremony to become his temple’s Champion in order to get close to the princess and goes through all of the challenges the Champions must face while being anxious all the way.
Malik even tells a story to a crowd of thousands of people that puts him ahead of all the other champions despite his crippling social anxiety. And in the end, he fights Idir in his own mind, using the treacherous routes of anxiety within himself against the obosom. Brown gave her protagonist crippling anxiety and then allowed him to use it as a weapon against his greatest enemy.
Everyone Should Read This Book
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin is an important novel for teenagers who are struggling with anxiety and may not even realize it, and for those who are diagnosed and looking for someone just like them in a novel full of magic and monsters. There are many other attributes for this novel aside from the representation it gives to those with GAD including a strong female protagonist, a POC cast of characters, and brilliant writing.
So the next time you find yourself in a bookstore or browsing on Amazon, take a look at A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown.
