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While censorship can harm the mental health of students, librarians, and authors, diverse bookshelves can heal, offering solidarity, community, and hope between the pages.

Emmy-nominated, award-winning, and bestselling Black nonbinary author and activist George M. Johnson wrote one of the most banned books in recent history and experienced the detrimental mental health impacts that followed, from the devastation of hatred to the realities of fearing for their life.

Still, Johnson courageously continues to write books that save lives, and fights to keep books on the shelves of libraries and schools that offer a mirror for every young person to find themselves in.

Q: Tell us about your journey as author of the previous #1 most banned book in America, All Boys Aren’t Blue, a memoir for teens about growing up Black and queer. What was it like for you to courageously share your story, only to have the book banned?

George M. Johnson: I remember the day I got the call that an offer was made for All Boys Aren't Blue. I was a freelance journalist and working part-time doing accounting, doing everything to make ends meet, and it was one of the best days of my life. Then an "Oh Sh**" moment hit me when I realized that I was going to have to be so vulnerable and so transparent with the world, and that's scary to know that your story will be out there for the masses to pick apart. But I couldn't have been more wrong. From the moment it released, I was getting texts and dm's and seeing so many comments about how the book was helping so many, and how so many were being seen and how........

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