ABOUT
THE
SERIES
My Life is Worth Living includes five powerful stories told over 20 episodes. In each episode, relatable teen characters wrestle with challenges that are all too familiar for many viewers and discover strategies to cope when it feels like their own thoughts are against them. Over the course of each character’s journey, they realize that life is worth living.
They don’t go it alone. Each character learns that support can come from family, friends, or even people they least expect and that the comfort of a sympathetic person can provide the relief they didn’t think possible. As the teens learn to share their burdens, cope in healthy ways, and accept support, that self-critical voice becomes less intrusive, and those bad situations become more hopeful. They learn that life at times can seem bleak, and that negative thoughts are often part of the experience, but also that we all deserve love and support, that no situation is hopeless, and that their lives are worth living.
Recent times have intensified social isolation, and this has been felt deeply in the lives of young people. The CDC reports that the instance of young girls attempting suicide has increased 50% since 2019. Today, suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people aged 10 to 24. Every day 500 people in this age group attempt suicide and 20 kids die by suicide. However, research shows that connections to friends, family, and community can be the difference between life and death. The power of storytelling is known to create connections and combat loneliness. Stories can break down the stigma of talking about mental health needs and thoughts of suicide.
Issues tackled in this series
My Life is Worth Living™ is produced by The Cook Center for Human Connection in partnership with Wonder Media. The Cook Center for Human Connection is a Utah-based non-profit dedicated to eradicating suicide and advocating for mental health and wellness. Having given over $10M to behavioral health initiatives, founders Greg and Julie Cook are confident that animation will reach young people in ways nothing else can.
For this reason, they have partnered with Wonder Media, the world’s leading animation studio producing mission-driven content for children and teens. Wonder Media is led by CEO Terry Thoren, the former CEO of Klasky Csupo, Inc., the company that incubated the first 65 episodes of the Simpsons and produced Rugrats, the Wild Thornberrys, Rocket Power, and many other globally popular animated series.
Wonder Media’s mission-driven animations have been viewed by more than 425 million people worldwide.
