WESTHAMPTON – Westhampton native and author Maeve Ronan is using her experiences to help young people better understand and cope with mental illness.

She’s accomplishing this through her self-published book, “It’s The Depression for Me: 3 Ways to Make Being a Teenager Suck Less,” which was recently named Amazons #1 New Release in Self-Esteem for Teens and Young Adults.

“I am just glad I have created something they resonate with. It makes me more motivated to create additional resources for them to help change what it means to be a teenager – less insecurity and feeling alone to more self-empowerment and building community,” Ronan said.

Ronan will host a discussion on her book at Westhampton Public Library on Jan 28 from 7:30  until 8:30 p.m. and told Reminder Publishing that she is excited for this event because it is a special opportunity to pass on the lessons that she has learned to the next generation.

To register for this event, email Emily Wayne at ewayne@cwmars.org. According to the library’s website, the first 10 teenagers to register will receive a free signed copy of the book.

Ronan said that the book is for any young person who wants to feel more understood, become more confident, and find their purpose.

"I wanted to write the book I wish I had in high school. I struggled a lot as a teen and I always wished I had a mentor to help me get through those times, so now that is the role model I aim to be for Generation Z,” said Ronan.

During her junior year at Wheaton College, she took a leave of absence to see what else was out there in the world. “I was curious to hear from all different types of successful people, how they got to where they are today.” she shared.

After taking her leave of absence she said it was scary at first because she did not know what she was doing but is glad that she stuck with it because it opened up her eyes to all of the opportunities there are in the world.

She originally planned to be gone for one semester but after a year of being away from college, she realized that she did not want to spend money on a major that she was not sure if she wanted to have a career in. For the past three years, she has traveled the world and spoke with successful people.

“I continued working on the interviews and the book while learning valuable skills from various jobs and three years later, I am running my own small business,” Ronan shared.

She shared that she reached out to people through cold calling, emailing, and people she met through her travels. Along her travels, she interacted with Alison Cowzer, an investor in Dragon’s Den, a UK version of Shark Tank, Alex Banayan the youngest bestselling business author in history, Mike Maples Jr., one of the first investors in Twitter, and Chip Wilson, the founder of Lululemon. Ronan said she learned a lot from the people she spoke with and they inspired the three main chapters of her book.

Ronan said she decided to do things the way she did because although traditional education can be good, there are a whole different set of skills and perspectives that people can only encounter from outside the classroom.

When Ronan began writing the book, the title was “If I Were Your Daughter” and she explained that it was more of a personal project but as she was writing, it became more clear on who she was writing for, and said  the change in the title reflects that.

Although she has been working on the book for the past three years, she said she had a dip in productivity during the first few months of quarantine and when she posted a video about the book on TikTok and received incredible responses, she knew she had to get the book out quickly.

“When thousands of comments from teens come in saying they really love the first chapter, they are struggling, and that they need more advice, you work a lot faster. I made this realization, changed the title, cover, and entire structure, and the book was published three weeks later,” she said.

Ronan said the pandemic influenced her decision to be self-published. She said that working with a publisher prolongs the writing and publishing process and she wanted to get her book out as soon as possible because of what the teenagers were saying.

Right now, she is working on building a platform for her readers to gain more mentorship and self-improvement resources. She said it will be a positive place Generation Z can go to get advice and connect with other teenagers in a more meaningful way other than social media.

Ronan also shared that she is working on another book that is set to be released sometime this spring.

“It’s The Depression for Me: 3 Ways to Make Being a Teenager Suck Less” can be purchased on www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.walmart.com, and signed copies can be purchased on her website, www.maeveronan.com.

For more insights, visit her website or follow her on Instagram and TikTok @maeveronan.

“To all the teens out there, even if your life sucks right now, just hang on – it will get better. If you want to learn how to actually make it better, join us during the library workshop or pick up your copy of ‘It’s the Depression for Me,’” said Ronan.