It's Kind of a Funny Story

It's Kind of a Funny Story is a 2006 novel by American author Ned Vizzini. The book was inspired by Vizzini's own brief hospitalization for depression in November 2004. Ned Vizzini later died by suicide on December 19, 2013. The book received recognition as a 2007 Best Book for Young Adults from the American Library Association. A film adaptation, directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, was released in the United States on October 8, 2010. Plot Craig Gilner, the narrator, is 15 years old and lives with his family in a middle-class Brooklyn neighborhood. He attends the prestigious Executive Pre-Professional High School, having studied arduously to win admission. Once admitted, however, he becomes overwhelmed by the school's intense academic pressure. He has a longstanding crush on Nia, who is dating his best friend, Aaron. He feels alienated and unable to fit in. His stress eventually manifests itself in an eating disorder, affects sleep habits, and suicidal thoughts. He takes a stand and goes to a psychiatrist who prescribes him Zoloft. He is elated for a brief period, and believes he is cured (what he calls "The Fake Shift")—so he decides to throw away the medicine. Consequently, his depression builds until, unable to fend off his suicidal ideation, he calls 1-800-SUICIDE and is admitted to a nearby psychiatric hospital. He is initially taken aback and feels he doesn't belong in a loony bin. With the adolescent floor of the hospital being full, Craig is sent to stay on the adult floor. He meets many other patients, some friendly, others reclusive or delusional, and is supported and encouraged by his family and school principal once they learn of his hospitalization.