Tag Archives: Mental Illness

Oct4

Mind Shift to a Better Place – Dr Larsen, Mindshift Foundation, Elizabeth Venzin

Posted on by
Standard

Harper Collins Australia

February 2020

  • ISBN: 9780733340451
  • ISBN 10: 0733340458
  • Imprint: ABC Books – AU
  • List Price: 32.99 AUD

Thankfully mental health has become not only de-stigmatised but supported and managed in ways that previously we had never experienced. It’s fair to say that 2020 has taken almost all of us to emotional places we had never expected to be in and the toll that stress, anxiety and uncertainty has taken is, to employ that ubiqitous word, unprecedented.

The Mindshift Foundation has taken up the mission of supporting Australians, young and old, to become aware of the importance of maintaining positive mental health through developing self-worth, better coping skills and greater resilience.

This book is a primer of useful information and and resources which can become a source of strength for those who are seeking to create for themselves better self-worth, positive well-being and above all, the strongest mental health possible.

Either as an addition to your collection or as a resource for teacher/counsellors this is an excellent resource.

Sep5

The Year We Fell from Space – Amy Sarig King

Posted on by
Standard

Text Publishing

November 2019

ISBN:9781922268853

AU Price:$16.99

NZ Price:$21.00

Divorce is difficult for many families but when coupled with the topic of depression – a mental health issue that continues to be frequently misunderstood – arguably even more so, particularly in this instance when it is parental depression.

Realistic and at times very emotional this is a novel that provides ultimately uplifting resolution and hope for children caught in this particular situation. King explores this twinned theme with finesse and empathy and it is no wonder it has been so highly acclaimed.

Liberty Johansen has dreams of changing the way people look at the sky. Her fascination with the stars and her creative interpretations of constellations have long been her passion, fuelled from an early age by her troubled father.

But when her parents split up and the family is fractured, Liberty sees her world and the stars she loves crashing down around her. Dealing with the aftermath of her mother’s sadness, her sister’s emotional distress and the growing realisation that it has not just been her father’s depression that has caused the rift, Lib also finds herself increasingly alienated from friends compounding her own anxieties.

When Liberty witnesses the rarity of a meteor crashing to earth, she retrieves the special ‘rock’ and it becomes her significant albeit virtual confidante as she struggles to find some equanimity in the increasingly sad family situation as well as her own social life.

As the reader follows Liberty’s year and her working through a mire of misery with the help of her extremely intuitive mother and with the aid of professional counselling – not to mention her conversations and self-realisations with her special ‘rock’, we come to know that while such a family break-down is very traumatic that often, and one might hope usually, the initial emotional rupture begins to heal and a different family life can emerge.

This is a fabulous read in its own right but for young tweens or teens finding themselves in such a predicament could well be a means to seeing their way forward as well.

Highly recommended for readers from around 10 years upwards.

Teaching notes available:

Click to access TN_The%20Year%20We%20Fell%20From%20Space.pdf

Jun20

Good Dog – Kate Leaver

Posted on by
Standard

Harper Collins Australia

April 2020

  • ISBN: 9781460758892
  • ISBN 10: 1460758897
  • RRP: 29.99 AUD

Well, no….it’s not the usual type of book I review and to be honest I’m more of a cat person than a dog one (though it’s not that I dislike dogs or anything!) but this is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading simply because it was both fascinating and heart-warming.

Journalist and editor Kate Leaver not only brings mental illness to a broader mainstream audience but celebrates the joyous and truly amazing bond that is between humans and dogs, particularly those dogs who can truly be called canine therapists.

Kicking off with some background of the domestication of dogs – which is fascinating and informative – Kate goes on to describe her special relationship with her rescue dog Bertie – a Shih tzu of quirky and endearing qualities.

The following chapters describe the intriguing and revelatory stories of ten different dogs who have transformed their owners’ lives: Missy the pug who has completely engaged with her eleven year old autistic owner helping him to make huge differences in his interactions with the world and people, Jingles the prisoners’ friend, Pip whose young owner has severe diabetes which is incredibly helped with her canine’s interventions and more.

Although clearly written for an adult audience, I know that I will have many of my teen dog aficionado readers who will thoroughly enjoy this read.

I found it inspiring and moving and highly recommend it to you and your readers for a non-fiction read with a real difference.

Mar25

The Thunderbolt Pony –Stacey Gregg

Posted on by
Standard

thunderbolt

Harper Collins Australia

  • ISBN:9780008257019
  • ISBN 10: 0008257019
  • Imprint: HarperCollins – GB

September 2017

RRP $26.99

 

Stacey Gregg’s series of which this is the fifth has been a stellar hit with my ‘horsey girls’. And though I’m not particularly horsey myself (aside from paying for Miss Small’s passion) I have thoroughly enjoyed them as well as each weaves some excellent factual and historical information into the narratives.

In this newest book it is not only the devastating impact of the Christchurch earthquakes which form a dramatic part of the plot but the little-explored incidence of mental illness in children. Although society is becoming more open about such illnesses, rarely I have seen references or certainly novels which take on such concepts.

Evie is 12, her father is gravely ill with cancer and she and her mother are dealing with this trauma as best they can. For Evie, her anxiety over her father has manifested into OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) which is having significant impact on her everyday life. When her tiny town of Parnassus is evacuated due to the severity of earthquakes, Evie refuses to leave without her beloved pony. Her mother has been injured so does not know that Evie has rejected the evacuation plan and has, instead, set out cross country with Gus, her pony, plus Moxy the cat and Jack the dog. Facing many situations which require initiative and daring, Evie’s mental health is tested to its limits.

This is a thrilling adventure for girls and one which will offer them real insight into the acuity that mental pressures/ill-health can impose on children just like themselves.

Highly recommended for readers from around ten years upwards.

 

Teaching Guide here

Jan19

I Was Here – Gayle Forman

Posted on by
Standard

i-was-here-9781471124396_lg

  • Simon & Schuster
  • 288 pages |
  • ISBN 9781471124396 |
  • February 2015

List Price

AU$ 19.99

NZ$ 21.99

Many of you will already be familiar with Gayle Forman’s If I Stay – either the book or the blockbuster movie, or indeed her other work. Having been pretty much focused on YA for boys for the past year, that one passed me by.  However, having just finished the proof copy of this latest of her novels, I feel I will be backpedaling to find more. Elegant prose, moving without being cloying, completely engrossing and utterly fascinating, I Was Here explores sadly all too common issues of depression, mental health and teen suicide.

18 year old Cody struggles with the despair and grief she experiences following the suicide of her best friend, Meg. The closest of friends since kindergarten days, Cody realises that since Meg went away to university, she has lost the same intimacy they had always shared and when Meg’s parents ask Cody to go and retrieve Meg’s belongings from her university digs, she is struck anew by how much of Meg’s recent history is hidden from her.

Gradually, Cody begins to understand that the incomprehensible suicide of her friend may have been encouraged by external agents – or to be specific an external agent.  Her initial distrust of Meg’s Washington friends – in particular, the attractive Ben with whom Meg had had a liaison at one time – is broken down as each in turn, becomes part of her sleuthing mission to uncover Meg’s last months and days.

Cody discovers as much about her own inner thoughts, feelings and life as she does Meg’s during her journey – and finds that love comes unexpectedly and unlooked for from unlikely quarters, and healing is possible in spite of everything.

Though the publisher’s website suggests this is a novel for readers aged 12 up, I would strongly suggest that if you are contemplating it for your library collection, it is most definitely Senior Fiction. Plentiful strong language, drug and sexual references could cause consternation for younger readers (or their parents!).  However, given the focus we should be putting on these issues with our young people, there is most definitely much to be explored, examined and evaluated in this narrative.

I would highly recommend it – but repeat, I will be designating this as Senior Fiction in my own library.