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This book is written very simply and from the perspective of a high school student. This makes it very easy for teens and young adults to understand, and it lends itself to that audience with familiar language and explanations.

More importantly, the memoir describes OCD and its symptoms in vivid detail. This helps young readers confront any preexisting notions they may have of OCD, since it is a widely misunderstood disorder.

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Allison Britz is the author of Obsessed, her only book.

When she was 15, Britz suddenly experienced constant and harsh symptoms of OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. This mental illness challenged her previous persona of academic excellence and sociability as she attempted to hide her compulsions. Eventually, the journey leads towards a diagnosis, and she comes to accept herself and her disorder.

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While Britz's main goal is to raise awareness of OCD by sharing her story, her memoir has a constant theme of advocacy—more specifically, the theme of being honest with yourself and seeking help.

At the beginning of the story, Britz denies the possibility of her having a mental illness. This is mainly because she believes that "god has chosen [her]" to experience her compulsions, and that her compulsions are keeping her safe (229).

Towards the end, however, she accepts the reality of her mental illness. This act of being honest with herself eventually allows her "heart [to] fill with warmth" when she tells her friends and seeks help (341).

This journey through Britz's disorder and receiving treatment communicates Allison's goal of helping others realize when they might need help. She wants to encourage younger audiences that advocating for yourself and finding assistance can ease personal suffering.

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Obsessed was written in 2018, when at least 3 major celebrities took their lives, and others spoke up about their struggles with mental health. This follows a general trend that started in the 2010s of increased mental health awareness.

Britz's book, coming from this era of nuanced views on mental health, shows in the raw way her story is told. She holds few details back, like detailing how mental health can affect someone's hygiene.

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With increased acceptance of mental health issues, Britz likely felt empowered to share her story. Britz had always liked books, so being able to write her book to share her story likely felt more personal and impactful.

In 2018, disorders like OCD still had a lot of stigma and stereotypes around them. Britz's story would've been important for helping people of the time understand the disorder, and it continues to be relevant as current young adults continue their learning.

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Britz uses an incredible amount of imagery and figurative language to demonstrate the thought processes she experiences with her mental illness. Intense episodes often come with intense scenes, and a lot of her struggles with OCD can be represented by the physical things going wrong around her.

When she's having a major OCD episode, Britz is in her bathroom, and "a tide of dark clouds" feels as though they're enclosing around her (2).

Later on, another OCD episode makes it feel as though "the room is flying in a blur" around Britz (189).

Britz's use of imagery turns an extremely internal experience like mental illness into one that readers can easily understand.

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While all appeals can be found in her book, Britz mostly uses pathos in her memoir to communicate the emotional toll her mental illness took on her throughout her journey.

Pathos is used in the opening scene to bring a sense of intensity and resonance. The reader doesn't exactly know who Allison is or what's happening to her in the prologue, but the distressing details of Britz "[letting] out a pathetic whimper" as she experiences an episode immediately helps the reader connect with her (2).

One instance of other appeals being used is towards the end of the book, where Britz is starting to realize the severity of her disorder. She can logically think about her disorder, countering her previous notions by accepting that OCD is "ruining [her] life. And [her] relationships. And [her] future" (231).

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I would describe Allison Britz's story as vulnerable. As mentioned previously, she doesn't hold back on details and readily shares the unfiltered experience of someone with extreme OCD. The reader reads about Britz at her worst, and it makes for an incredibly impactful story as she's not afraid to describe her mental illness as it is--difficult.

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Works Cited

Britz, Allison. Obsessed. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2018. Print.

Rosenhaft, Andrea. “2018 Was Both a Tragic and Banner Year for Mental Health.” Psychology Today, 1 1 2019, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/from-both-sides-of-the-couch/201901/2018-was-both-a-tragic-and-banner-year-for-mental-health. Accessed 18 25 2025.

Simon and Schuster. “Allison Britz.” Simon and Schuster, 2025, https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Allison-Britz/2112102560. Accessed 18 5 2025.