1. They felt comforting because they reminded me of happier times and because re-reading the characters was like meeting with old friends.

 

2. Between the magic and the vampires, they talked about mental illness, before we were more openly talking about it, and before I really understood what was happening to me. The mixture made it easier to understand especially for someone like me that loves stories that use fantasy to interpret the world and that help me understand myself better. Probably because I grew up reading fantasy and seeing the way it connected the imagination with the real world.

 

In the books, users of spirit magic become mentally unstable since they get their power from their own essence. The effects are described as "darkness" and that was how my own emotions also felt at that moment. Is so amazing when you find in books the exact words that describe how you are feeling and in this case, the inner turmoil I was going through. 

The world has changed so much since the first book came out. As the books progress so does the way mental health is portrayed in them, especially in the Blood Lines series where we get to see Adrian putting his mental health as a priority. Also, we get amazing quotes like this one:

 

"I could see her toughening up, working hard to put all those emotions away because she thought that's what it means to be strong. I wanted to tell her that strength wasn't about hiding your feelings, that it was ok for her to feel this way..." 

-Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead 

The first time I read the series I felt empathy, but after going through difficult times myself with mental health, the second time I also felt understood.