Mason Galemore
Contributing Writer
mgalemore@murraystate.edu

Mental health has never been more important than now because of the turbulence COVID-19 has caused in the past year. To say life has become a twisted roller coaster would be an understatement and everyone has endured stress as a result. 

Racers Empower has offered a way for students to ease their stress through reading. The organization will hold a book discussion over the critically acclaimed novel The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. 

The novel has received many awards including the 2019 Waterstones Book of the Year. The illustrated novel depicts the friendship between the four main protagonists named in the title.

The book discussion will be held on April 26 at 11 a.m. Participants can join via Zoom or in person at the Curris Center Small Ballroom. 

The event will be led by Student Affairs coordinator and Racers Empower leader Jennifer Smith. Smith said the event will serve as a reminder to take a deep breath and focus on self care. 

“Mental Health is important year-round,” Smith said.  “Taking care of our mental and physical health helps us function as humans. Practicing self-care allows us to do the things we have to do, whether it’s school or work, and it allows us to do the things we enjoy doing for fun.  

COVID-19 has impacted everyone’s mental health. Events like these are ways to demonstrate how a community like Murray State’s can find empathy and understanding for each other through hardship. 

Smith said students and faculty members have been experiencing the same stress. She said COVID-19 has played a significant role in making us understand that it is okay to feel overwhelmed. 

“We’re all dealing with stress from an unprecedented source, COVID-19,” Smith said. “We may have different issues causing the stress, but the commonality allows for us to show kindness and compassion to one another.”

Racers Empower intends to use that commonality of stress within the reading event and bring Murray State community members together by practicing the shared experience of reading.

Reading has been widely proven to mentally strengthen people. Engaging with a story can evoke thoughts and emotions within the reader and reduce stress. Books also serve as a way for the reader to escape no matter where they are. 

“Reading is an excellent way to relax, and you can read a book indoors on a rainy day, or outside in the sunshine,” Smith said. “I like how reading a book can transport you to another place and time.” 

Smith said the event is a great way for the campus community to build mental fortitude. The novel gives participants the opportunity to relate to the characters and the opportunity to relate to each other.

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is a novel that focuses on kindness and the importance of self care. Smith said the book’s message is very fitting to Racers Empower’s mission of promoting student health, both mentally and physically.

“The event will focus on the message of kindness, and be a celebration of the semester and the last year, frankly,” Smith said. “We all need a reason to celebrate, and the fact that we, as a campus, have made it through the last year together is definitely a call for celebration.”

Smith said this event will help the campus community feel less isolated and bring a sense of normalcy to everyone.

“I think the most important thing for a person to feel or to know is that they are not alone,” Smith said. “We are here to support and lift each other up.”

The in-person gathering for the event is limited to 40 people. For those who wish to attend virtually or when that capacity is reached there will also be a Zoom link on Murray State’s website under Racers Empower. 

More information on the event and the featured novel can be found by searching “racers empower” in the search bar at www.murraystate.edu.