“I think what I’ve realized is, life is all about climbing up, slipping down, and picking yourself up again. And it doesn’t matter if you slip down. As long as you’re kind of heading more or less upwards. That’s all you can hope for. More or less upwards. ” (284) In Finding Audrey, a realistic fiction book by Sophie Kinsella, Audrey just wants to be better. Throughout the whole book, all she wants is to be normal, or have a “straight graph,” as she calls it. After a traumatic incident, Audrey is left with an anxiety disorder. The only thing that gets her close to her goal is Linus, her brother’s friend, who turns out to be more than just a friend. Kinsella considered humor and psychology both while she was writing this book. Finding Audrey…show more content… She became much more assertive, and her anxiety went away almost completely. At the beginning, she felt as if she had to wear dark glasses to avoid making eye contact, “Most people underestimate eyes. They're infinite. You look someone straight in the eye and your whole soul can be sucked out in a nanosecond. Other people's eyes are limitless and that's what scares me.” (76), and at the end, she had a boyfriend. At first, Audrey had a negative reaction when anyone outside of her family came near her. When Linus was over with her brother, he walked into the room Audrey was in. “My chest is starting to rise in panic. Tears have already started to my eyes. My throat feels frozen. I need to escape.” (21) Clearly, Audrey has anxiety attacks very easily, and I could infer that her incident left her very sensitive around others. Linus kept persisting so he could be close to her though, and with his help, she took baby steps to recovery. First, they wrote notes. Then, he makes foot contact with her so they are touching without technically exposing her. After, he took her to Starbucks, and made her do dares, where she asked people silly questions. Linus aided Audrey with recovery, so she could become better. “‘Welcome to my eyes,’ I say softly. ‘What do you think?’” (274) At the end, Audrey reveals her eyes, which means much more than simply taking off her glasses. It represents that her soul is receptive, and she is starting to put trust…show more content… “It won’t be forever. You’ll be in the dark for as long as it takes and then you’ll come out.” (107) Linus told Audrey that when she expressed concern about never getting better. It shows the people that have mental health issues that it is okay to take steps back, as long as you can go back up again. It taught me a lesson, but it is more relatable to that community. I did learn that people with anxiety may not be fully cured, just like Audrey thought she was all better, but the person might still be a little sensitive. This book gave me a unique insight into the mind of someone with a mental illness than I could ever understand before. Although I did not connect to this book as much as some others, I still found it very stimulating. I have no anxiety, but I could very easily be the friend of someone with it. That is why I found Linus, Audrey’s love interest, as a point of inspiration. He is understanding, and was what she needed in order to recover. He helped her to take small steps on the road to success. Overall, he did everything and more that someone should have done if he/she were in his place. Finding Audrey inspired me to do more for those around me who need