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Description A poetic journey that illustrates a life-long struggle with a serious illness. Poems of pain, hope and a love for life, all combine in a book of exquisite feeling and personal triumph.About the AuthorWhen Alanna was fifteen she was hospitalized for the first time for self-mutilation, suicidal ideation and depression. She was very delusional about people and situations, it was only much later when she was taking anti-psychotic medications that her thoughts cleared. At this time she was still in private school and also competing every week at major horse shows (rather dangerous and scary now that she recalls). What has followed is over twenty five hospitalizations, numerous medicine changes and the bogeyman of all treatments ECT. She learned early on that it was up to her to educateherself in all facets of this disease, schizoaffective disorder, to find humor where and when she can . (If someone asks her "did you hear that.?" She says don't ask me). She is very pro-active in educating and advocating for those with mental illness. She has spoken to college classes and also medical staff in hospitals. At present Alanna is on a huge menu of medications but sheis self-employed, training horses and riders. She is also a professional artist who has had six shows in Manhattan galleries and thirty gallery shows on Long Island . Alanna hopes to reach people's emotions and lives through her poetry.

Description A novel based on the social and criminological study of the effects of rape and on the problem of recidivism of sex offenders. The story starts with the episode of Francine a victim of rape, who turns up a killer without wanting to after killing her perpetrator. While in prison, awaiting trial, Francine is referred to the desk of Dr. Michelle a forensic psychiatrist who works in a mental institution, mainly with cases of sex offenders and who is assigned to help Francine in court. Through Francine s' experience we learn about the long term effects of rape, its impact on her life and her journey to survival. About the AuthorMarie Anne Zammit is a graduate in Social Work and Probation Services and currently work as a Probation Officer. Marie Anne paints and writes articles, novels and poetry both in English and in Maltese and her articles appeared on various local newspapers and journals. Marie Anne s' interest in Criminology and Mental Health commenced in 1994 when she was still a student in Social Work and was also doing voluntary work at the Prisons. In the same year Mary Anne was awarded the Youth of the Year. From there, Marie Anne followed a Post Qualification Diploma Course in Probation Services and in 1997 has been employed with the Probation Services, Malta. Marie Anne s' first novel was in Maltese, Id-Dell ta' l-Ezmeraldi, a story dealing with a 'whodunit' theme, which was a success. This was followed by another book, Ir-Ragel l-Iswed, in 2002 the main theme of which was drugs. The latter was awarded the MAPA (Maltese Association of Publishers and Authors prize) In 2006 Mary Anne Zammit published her third novel in Maltese Stupru which means Rape and which was also a success. Marie Anne is Spoke Person for Health and Social Policy with the Green Party, Malta.,

Description"Excelling in international distance running is not an easy caper. Who is willing to put in the hours of everyday training? Who wants to physically exhaust themselves at regular intervals? Who finds satisfaction in testing their mental strength, while pushing through the pain barrier? Who is willing to commit their entire everyday life to being the best they can be? Abdelkader Kada has coached athletes of exceptional ability who answered 'yes' to these questions. The stories of Moroccans Hicham El Guerrouj, Salah Hissou and Ali Ezzine are ones of great success. Success that was achieved through dedication, belief and natural talent. Inspired by their coach and the earlier deeds of Said Aouita, read on as Hicham, Salah and Ali do their best to defeat some of the greatest long distance runners the world has seen. About the AuthorGreg Rowlerson is a young Australian and unashamedly, an international athletics fan. He has been a semi serious distance runner for seventeen years, participating in many fun runs over ten kilometres and various other distances. His passion and knowledge of Athletics have amassed over the years to a point where he has instant recall of many athletes and their individual performances including placings, personal bests etc. Much of what you read in this book is based on Greg's own personal knowledge. To add credibility and further enhance this publication, he spent five months in Morocco where he researched and interviewed one of the athletes mentioned. Greg is twenty-seven years old and resides in Hastings, Victoria. This is his first book.

Description Debra was inspired to write this book after seeing Professor Richard Dawkins in one of his programmes promoting the theory of evolution. As a Christian, she feels passionate about society being educated and informed regarding the flaws that she believes evolution presents us with, thus leaving the alternative more probable - it's opposition, creation. Science relies on that which is proven. Evolution is a belief system. She feels that society is expected to take this unreliable theory seriously, whilst ignore the truth of that which it's rival entails.The initial story in the book deals with the controversy of creation verses evolution, held within a counselling session. As a sufferer of mental health herself, she has incorporated this topic within the volume.The purpose of this book is to open people's eyes to the truth that many seek and that many find, with the aim and the hope that many more will come to the 'unpopular' conclusion which differs from that which we're fed.It leaves us with the question, what should we do if we discover and accept that alternative? About the AuthorDebra C. Rufini was born in Hampshire in 1971.He first book, 'Social Misfit' was published by Chipmunka Publishing in 2006. Dealing with issues relating to mental health, she was able to express her feelings on that which she had suffered for many years. Being a Samaritan, she could identify with her client's concerns.Debra writes poetry dealing with mental health and Christianity, (mainly focusing on creationism). She is passionate about educating people blinkered by evolution, and those with open ears willing to hear why she believes the alternative view to be the convincing case.

Description The book consists of 30 Nursery Rhymes and 6 true case histories about Addicts the Author met during research for the book.Craig O'halloran was found dead in the gutter after overdosing on Heroin. His Sister gave permission for his name to be used and for his diary charting the last months of his life to be used.Other chapters include information about Narcotics Anonymous meetings attended by the Author.Georgina Wakefield felt compelled to write this book because of the growing body of evidence that points to the risks that illegal drugs use can be a trigger for the onset of mental disorders. Her son Christian suffers from Schizophrenia and while Georgina does not maintain that illegal drugs caused his illness she does feel that their use may have played a part in it's beginnings.About the AuthorGeorgina Wakefield has been both a Service Users and a Carer she runs a small Management Consultancy entitled "Spotlight On Schizophrenia" and has developed her work, delivering 'The Carers Perspective' over the last 10+ years. She writes books, poems and supports material with family photo's .Her family have been involved in 6 videos and TV programmes about mental illness, and the impact on families.Her family support her, with her husband Paul she attends events and speaks publicly all over the Country. Georgina works for The Institute of Psychiatry on 3 Nurse training Courses other clients include various Universities and NHS Trusts. She has an overriding passion to raise the profile of severe mental illness.quote: "We must do all we can to help people to see that this can happen to any one of us at anytime in our lives. Anyone unlucky enough to become a victim of such a tragic life event deserves our utmost respect"

Description This first-person account tracks the real life of the author who slowly became engulfed by an acute depression, and his subsequent attempt to gain back his former lifestyle. The work offers an insight into the mind of a person diagnosed with depression - explaining how the illness started, the deterioration felt as it took hold, and the author's progress through recovery. It endeavors to explain the distorted thinking that controls everyday life, making the smallest tasks which we all take for granted seemingly overwhelming and impossible. About the AuthorM. M. Johns lives in Stirling in Scotland. Educated in South Africa and Zimbabwe, he served in the British South Africa Police for three years prior to joining the British Army for nine years. He worked in the UK for several years before moving to South Africa where he was employed in the Security Industry as a Consultant in Loss Prevention for corporate clients. He returned to the UK eleven years ago to work in the Hospitality Industry. He retired due to ill health in 2007 and now writes from home more as a hobby, something to do, and the result is that he has now written one non-fiction and two fiction novels. A Cheerful Depression is the story of his journey into depression, a suicide attempt and the recovery process.

Description Synonymously Jason has activated a dissent into the reduction of stigma regarding mental illness. His first book 'Sex, Drugs and Northern Soul' outlined his own recovery from his own demons and experiences as a 'service user' in the 1980's. Jason's second book 'Stigma worse than the illness', is an uplifting if not empowering story into the reduction of stigma into mental illness. No one is exempt from mental ill health vulnerabilities or immune to its susceptibilities. However Jason has become an advocate into ensuring the recovery model is perpetuated nationally, if not internationally to its maximum extent by his biography, presentation and networking.About the AuthorIn Rotherham, Yorkshire, 45 years ago my son, Jason Tune, a healthy 10 lb baby was born. It was a normal birth without complications. I watched him grow from a happy boy into a bright teenager. As he was approaching his 16th birthday, his behaviour started to change dramatically and he became restless and withdrawn. After seeking medical advice, I was told he was suffering a mental breakdown. He spent quite a long time in an out of hospital. Despite all the trauma and stigma he encountered he never once gave up fighting to regain his identity. Through his self belief and determination he is now able to lead a normal meaningful life. So much so, that he is now employed by a NHS Mental Health Trust helping a 'new generation' with a similar disposition.

DescriptionDiagnosed with severe ADHD and bipolar disorder, Billy Hawthorne faced a steep uphill battle to control his mental illness and beat his debilitating addictions to alcohol and DXM products, the active ingredient in cough syrups such as Robotussin and Corocidin. Today Billy is managing his mental illness and his addictions and is ready to move on with his life, but not before relentlessly battling a crazy mental health and criminal justice system in Virginia whose plethora of contradicting rules and criteria many times came close to leaving him for dead.Relive Billy's 5 year battle through repeated struggles and his ultimate triumph firsthand through the eyes of his father, Woody. It is both Woody and Billy s hope that, through reading this book, other families may be able to avoid much of the pain and craziness that kept Billy from getting better sooner. About the AuthorWoody Hawthorne was born in August 1957 in Schenectady, NY USA. He graduated from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA in 1979 and has worked primarily as an Electromagnetic Compatibility engineer in the aerospace industry for the past 29 years. He and wife Janice now live with son Billy in Merritt Island, VA. Woody enjoys playing his guitar, baseball and his favorite pastime sailing.

Description This collection of 103 essays, written over some years, I venture to suggest shows increasinglybetter mental health developing over that period illustrated by the improved command of expression of the author in choices of somewhat differing subject matters. That may be of only minor concern though, of more importance to one and all is it's preoccupation, almost throughout, on the benefits of and obligation to do " the right thing", which, although possibly didactic, may be unexpected coming from someone with the notorious label of paranoid schizophrenic, perhaps even being very reassuring for that particular reason. Having said this, humour is very apparent still, amusement naturally being intended to maintain the readers' interest in the writer's views and opinions, which are propounded also with a creative use of language. While some of the stories are purely for fun, you will hopefully find most are enjoyably enlightening and of value on several different levels.About the AuthorMilo Seamus Miles was born in Hampshire in summer 1951 to parents who were afraid to address their historic issues, which they were also, alas, too scared to share. The author became terrified that possession of the knowledge that they were keeping from him and processing it cognitively would have a devastatingly detrimental effect upon him leading to adverse, maybe evil, consequences perhaps for everyone including himself in terms of his subsequent behaviour, being convinced by the great fear manifested by his mother and father.This led to an aversion to learning and thinking which then halted almost completely, not to be resumed for over a dozen years, with the resultant deterioration in mental health from which paranoid schizophrenia eventually derived. Finding his misery, the low quality of life, unacceptable, he decided that he must strive to achieve something of major importance to make this having been a worthwhile, transitional situation, starting by establishing " how" he wanted to be. With this as his guide he became increasingly functional and, with aims for his behaviour, later began to make a contribution.Stimulated by reading Milo's autobiography in mid-1998, his mother was motivated to, together with his father, divulge the bones of the difficult personal experiences that they had hidden from him for 47 years. Accepting the facts and finding out more, Milo dealt with these things, becoming increasingly confident of his commitment to assist in humanity's well-being, being informed by the wisdom engendered through having responded appropriately, albeit delayed, to the suffering which he had decided he must make every effort to overcome, trusting that this would be achieved by becoming consciously aware of the relevant truth and putting it into context. A faith which proved correct.

Description When student nurse Brenda Dalton starts work at her local mental hospital, she finds the place being run by tyrannical Senior Nurse Rawsthorne. When Brenda reports Rawsthorne for bullying patient Dorothy Little, she finds herself being victimised in turn....About the AuthorRobert Dando has written many stories and articles, some of them on mental health issues. He has also co-organised two mental health film seasons in London.

Description "Tambourine" is dedicated to the good, brave people of Spain who provided refuge to Gypsies and Jews fleeing the Vichy French. This is a story of courage and hope in the face of unrelenting danger. It is a story of ingenuity and strength, and the human capacity for survival. Anna and her Gypsy family are in constant risk of their lives as they attempt to reach Spain and find refuge there from the Nazis and Vichy French. The hatred of Gypsies and Jews that is perpetrated by the Vichy allies of Hitler is shared by many Frenchman who are ready to turn them over to the authorities. "Tambourine" is as much a psychological adventure as it is a war story. Through fear, courage, violence, guilt, incredible passion, and unceasing emotional pressures the characters must struggle with how to interact with each other while at the same time struggling to survive. Yet through all their travails the family finds help from unexpected sources - partisan fighters who protect them and welcome them as fellow fighters, Catholic priests who are willing to risk their lives to give them shelter, and simple French families ready to give what help they can. In this "Tambourine" is an affirmation of the basic decency that is at the core of our humanity and a rejection of ethnic hatred.About the AuthorBorn in Israel in 1953, Nily Naiman grew up among Holocaust survivors and their children. Israel of the 1950's was a confused mix of conflicting cultures, traditions, and tragic personal histories, all grating against each other in a new society struggling to define itself. This was the bewildering brew into which she was born. Her work is inspired by her childhood memories of the stories of her parents and their contemporaries. Only now has she begun writing down the pieces of her life that are incorporated into her fiction. Her first novel, "Ahuva", set entirely in Israel, has been published in the U.S.

Description Garth Brooks had a song a few years back- "The Dance" even now when I hear it, I cry."I could have missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the Dance" But lots of things still make me cry. I know I am not alone. Many widows still cry, over songs, or just about any thing that triggers a memory. This is my story of the death and 1st year of widowhood. It is all true. I wrote it to try and make sense of what was happening.It still hurts, that is the best way to describe it. It Hurts! A pain in my stomach like someone punched me, took my breath away. I really did not think I could go on alone.

Description Rebecca describes her struggle with the depths of depression and the confusion of psychotic episodes vividly and honestly. This story has been written using diaries, which Rebecca has written every day since she was thirteen. This account is accompanied by evocative poetry, including poems written while she was experiencing psychotic illness. She emerges at the end of the book with renewed confidence and clarity about her periods of illness. This book aims to show what it is like in the sufferer's mind and to give real hope to fellow sufferers that recovery is possible with help and support.About the Author Rebecca Morgan was born in Hertfordshire in 1951. She obtained a degree in Modern History and Politics from Sheffield University in 1973, followed by a Post-Graduate Diploma in Librarianship from Birmingham Polytechnic in 1975. In 1978 she became a Chartered Librarian and has worked for 20 years for Sheffield Libraries, Archives and Information Service.She has experienced severe depression, postnatal depression and psychotic illness during her life. Rebecca is married with one son and lives in Sheffield. This is her first book, although she has had poetry and a few articles published in magazines and anthologies.Rebecca Morgan is a pseudonym.

Description Written in the first person, Sour Face is a powerful account of the life of a victim involved in a domestic abusive relationship. As the story progresses the author links various theories of domestic abuse to incidents described in the text, as the victim tires to make sense of what is happening to her. The book attempts to educate the reader regarding the complex psychological issues regarding control and domestic abuse. The book also gives hope as the author relates the transformation of the main character from a victim, in to a survivor of domestic abuse.About the AuthorMari Jayne Cox is in her forties and lives in Birmingham. Involvement in a two year turbulent all consuming abusive relationship resulted in the destruction of Mari's confidence and self esteem. In order to combat these feelings of inadequacy Mari discovered writing as a form of therapy. As a result of these notes, plus extensive research of domestic violence and contact with fellow survivors, the manuscript "Sour Face" developed.Mari wrote Sour Face for two reasons.The first one was to help victims realise that that is in fact what they are, victims.The second reason was to raise awareness of an issue that continues to be hidden away in the 21st century by British society.Mari originally trained as a nurse. She now works at a management level within the health care profession.

Description For twenty-eight years, I have been experiencing inner voices and physical presences in ways that would normally induce the label 'schizophrenic' - except that I have never been ill from this cause.This is how it all began:A 'presence' that I could not see, moved from the space in front of me, into me, and immediately my mind was charged with another 'voice' or provoker of thoughts, thoughts over which, then, I had no control, and which were not initiated by me. In my head began conversation as between two separate people, one of whom was me.I began to hear voices.This book is part autobiography, part DIY Manual, and so... ...if you are being engulfed in the quicksands of your mind, if you are calling for help in the silence of your mind, if you cannot silence the voices that invade your mind, dominate and torment you, if you are caring for someone who is struggling within the morass that their mind has become... ...if you are any of these, then I am writing for you.About the AuthorBorn in South Wales, I spent my early years there, apart from four years service in the Royal Navy. In 1950, I graduated from the University of Wales with a degree in Electrical Engineering, and immediately began work at the Sellafield Nuclear Plant, where I spent all of my working life, my most memorable post being as Senior Instrument Engineer in the Calder Hall Nuclear Power Station. I retired early, and began an entirely new life developing my smallholding, and my interest in horses. Quite by chance, and following a seemingly innocent investigation and an interest in dowsing, a situation developed from which I began to hear voices and experience a wide range of allied phenomena. That was in 1979, and to this day I have never been free from intrusions into my mind, or from intruding presences. YES - INTRUSIONS. Because of what I was doing at the time, and from all that has followed, I have not the smallest shadow of doubt that my experiences result from spiritual intrusion into my mind and body. I have never been ill from this cause, although there have been difficult times. My purpose in writing is to inform and encourage - yes, to encourage those who are troubled by voices to believe that they can regain control of their minds and thoughts, and to help them to do so.

Description Reflections on Life is a collection of poems which describes the life experiences of the author who has lived with the personal legacy of child abuse, followed by the descent into mental illness (schizophrenia and OCD) and alcoholism. The poems carry a message of hope by exploring the complex mental landscapes of co-morbidity, dual diagnosis, psychosis, childhood, the power of ideas, emotions, thoughts, pain, loss, actions and relationships. The poems invite the reader on a journey through a world where the experience of mental distress has carved a creative channel through the darkness and loneliness of illness and points to a way forward.The author has experienced mental health problems since early childhood (OCD at five, schizophrenia since his teens). He has experienced stigma and discrimination from family, school and society but has learned to forgive along the way through the medium of poetry. The author has lived with severe and enduring mental illness, suicidal ideation, a plethora of psychotic symptoms, voices and perceptual aberrations, as well as the efforts of a sometimes unhelpful and clumsy mental health system. He has learned from the experience of others and how to put his own suffering and distress into a broader social context.About the AuthorThe author was born on 22 October 1964 in London and, with few exceptions, has lived and worked in London all his life. He is the younger of two brothers born to Polish émigré parents who arrived in the UK in the late nineteen forties, after experiencing traumatic childhoods separated from their own parents and witnessing conflict and war in some of the major theatres of the Second World War. The author lives in Ealing, west London which has a vibrant Polish community and is educated to university level. He is currently a postgraduate student at King's College London.The author's childhood was spent in a family home with a number of lodgers which, by any means, was overcrowded. There were many people in his life from early on; each with different, sometimes difficult, personalities which did little to fuse the immediate family unit into a secure base from which a child could thrive.Soon after starting school, the author began to experience cognitive, behavioural and emotional problems. These went unrecognised for many years, during which the author suffered in silence and fell back on his own resourcefulness in developing coping strategies. The author has had obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) since about the age of five and this had a devastating impact on home life and school. At first it was an obsession with numbers and letters of the alphabet. There was much confusion and anxiety in the young child's life. Soon the obsessions multiplied and mutated into more physical aspects of movement (going in and out of doorways, walking up and down pathways and stairs, opening and closing, repeating things aloud) which were accompanied by thoughts and feelings of doom. On many occasions, the stress was so great that the author's young mind would switch off and become empty of thought and fixed in a void but with the recognition that things had to be put right, sorted out and put back in place.

Description Leonardo, Romancia and Ra is a book of extended visions and waking dreams. It continues where my previous book, Angels, Cleopatra and Psychosis, came to an end. But whereas Angels, Cleopatra and Psychosis is sometimes nightmare-ish in its psychiatric settings, Leonardo, Romancia And Ra is more romantic, featuring the soul of romance herself, the spirit Romancia. In the central chapter of the book I accompany Romancia to Paris for a ten day holiday, and art history is discussed as the story of the French revolution and French romantic art are both revealed. The spirits of Leonardo and Michelangelo make appearances in the book, as they did in Angels, Cleopatra and Psychosis, and so do two new spirits, the French romantic painters Géricault and Delacroix, best of friends, and guardians of Parisian revolutionary integrity. At the end of the Parisian holiday, Romancia vanishes to become the wind of love, whilst I return to England where I have a confrontation with the ancient Egyptian sun god Ra.About the AuthorMichael Black was born in 1962, and Leonardo, Romancia And Ra describes his life and spiritual experiences within the British mental health system over the past fifteen years. Like its predecessor, Angels, Cleopatra And Psychosis (also published by Chipmunka), the book stands up for the legitimacy of so-called psychotic experience, and questions the validity of the received medical model. Michael grew up in Cheshire, where he attended Wilmslow Grammar School before doing an English and History degree at York University. He then completed a doctorate in anti-apartheid literature at Cambridge University, whilst variously working as a journalist and theatre producer.Michael is the author of one novel, Crossing Out The Emperor, and six stage plays, all of which can be viewed at his website www.mwblack.co.uk. He has received three Arts Council Playwrights Bursaries, and is currently working on a new stage play and two film scripts.

Description 'From Heights to Depths and Somewhere in Between' is Linda Stoneman's first publication.A true, personal and factual account of some of Linda's life experiences, some of which she believes, triggered her bipolar disorder. Her book starts with a poem she wrote when she was in a high phase of a bipolar episode. In her introduction she discusses 'stress' and the affects of this on our bodies and minds.Linda goes onto reflect on her life so far, highlighted by various personal experiences being a mental health patient. Vivid thoughts of what was going on in her head when psychotic to feelings of deepest despair when depressed. An insider's view of a mental health ward; and the alternative of being treated at home by the Crisis and Treatment team. (CATT).This book will appeal to fellow sufferers to compare experiences, or to someone who has no insight into bipolar but wants to learn more.About the AuthorLinda Stoneman was born in Bricket Wood, St Albans. She grew up surrounded by a very happy family living in St Albans and then Harpenden. After leaving school she was torn between training as a general nurse or training as a secretary - she chose the latter. Linda worked as a secretary for several large companies including ICI and Barclays Bank.She married Dave in 1982, and in 1988 they had a baby - Sarah.It was after 1988 that Linda started to suffer from depression and then bipolar disorder. With the support from all of her family and the medication, she 'lives' with her bipolar.

Description "Don't Mind Me" is Judith Haire's vivid account of the terrors she experienced while in the throes of psychosis. She describes how her dysfunctional family background and her abusive first marriage combined to bring her to the brink of insanity. Her remarkable and sustained recovery is told in great detail. "Don't Mind Me" is an extraordinary story and shows how Judith battled through her devastating illness and emerged a stronger and more resilient woman.About the AuthorJudith Haire was born in 1955 and worked for several years before graduating in Politics from Sheffield University. Afterwards she spent eleven years working in the civil service, in a variety of roles. At 37 she experienced an acute psychotic episode which was to change her life radically. She lives in Kent with her husband Ken and their eccentric cat, Smudge. Judith had her first article published in Mental Health Practice magazine in 2007. "Don't Mind Me" is her first book.

Description 'Shiner' is Terry's third book. It is the story from birth to death, rags to riches of a man who suffers from manic depression in his mid life. It tells of his struggle with the illness, and help from family and friends makes a story which has laughter and sadness, friendships and love.'Shiners' early days with his poor family, a father who was a drunkard and shunned him, a mother who doted on all her children, but suffered illness throughout. 'Shiners' rise from a prison cell to millionaire status was a treat to write.About the Author Terry has been a valued Volunteer with Basildon Mind since the early 90's and also an extremely loyal colleague and good friend. Prior to joining Basildon Mind, Terry gave many years of dedicated service to the London Fire Brigade on various watches. He was very well respected by all his colleagues. He was awarded the "Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Award", which is an extremely prestigious award.Since leaving the Fire Brigade, Terry has had to fight his own battles against an illness known as "Manic Depression". Despite several admissions to hospital, Terry does all he can to keep himself on an even keel.

Description The words in the music I have loved, have inspired and influenced me and are also paramount, which is why there are songs/lyrics within; their rhythm is in this collection.My whole life has been and remains the search for a meaningful life, to challenge stigma and prejudice in society, to search for a fairer society with a better sense of social justice and community.About the AuthorI am Peter Clifford Vealey, now fifty five years old. I was born in post war Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire. I have had three breakdowns at 24, 40 and 51. I think, like many people, I had an underlying depression before my first hospitalisation in winter1976.I have had various and varied employments, up to the early 1990`s, since leaving school at 16, without finding any real sense of belonging anywhere. The best part of that time of my life was the friends I made, many of whom I still have. I have never been particularly materialistic. My abiding passions have been and remain poetry, football and music, not necessarily in that order.

Description This book is a memoir in which I've grappled with everything from mental illness to romantic frustration, from mysticism to homelessness. Thought is out of my mind's league, asides that which can come into being through my pen. I hope to have encapsulated something new with a stroke of something ancient. I cannot remember a time when I had the mental concentration to read without being suspended in an imprisoning haze, a dungeon's embrace. I would love to tell you in detail what my book is about, but I'm afraid I can't, as I haven't read it. - Adnandus DyzantaeAbout the AuthorAdnandus Dyzantae is 31. He lives in Hampstead with his mother and sister. He has read only one book in his life and flicks through prefaces, due to an absence of concentration. He spent 8 years alone in the wilderness of mental illness before being diagnosed by a psychiatrist at 24. Adnandus hopes medication and CBT will help him in his quest to gain some degree of formal education so he can continue his passion for writing. Reading still produces feelings of negative absorption within him, causing acute psychological discomfort. Yet he's written prolifically (some 300 poems) since dropping out of school at 17. This is his first book in prose. Adnandus writes from brain to paper without returning to change a single word of his work...probably because it would involve reading! He also composes music and lyrics. None of his work has been publicly seen before.

Description Everything that you read in this book is a moment in my life,as you are probably familier with the facts that we all have ourups and downs as our lives are a constant chain of experiences, there are times when we can wonder if it is worth carrying ondue to relationship break ups, lack of self worth or even just theour general day to day living,and i hope that my experiences good or bad may help or guide oreven give other people a some hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel, this book shall go through experiences that at some point we canall relate to you, rejection, depression, relationship difficultiesloss of loved ones, children, and also the love that we often hold forour families, but even the deceipt and uncaring way that some parentsand grandparents etc can also deliver, and so i hope and pray that you have had fewer of these times than meas all poems in this book are of situations that i have been in, love that i had and lost, children that i bore and the ones i did not bare, and alsodifficulties of losing my children my home etc and most important of how i got through all of this as there are words of comfort and support. i have used poetry for the last 17 years to express my anger i found that it helped me to write everything down what i was feeling rather than punching out or harming myself, and the fact that i then made it into poems gave me a greatsense of worth and admiration for myself, and the fact now that i hope it shall help others is the biggestreward i could get which makes all my experiences a little more worth while these poems are about me and my journey into adult lifethey helped me through all the mental health issues whichhave allowed me to be still standing today,i hope that they shall help and inspire you too in your journey.About the AuthorMy name is Lisa Diallo and I was born in Oldham just on the outskirts of Manchester in 1972.I am at present living in Lincoln with my husband to be and my 4 children.I started writing poetry as a release and comfort without even realising I could inspire other people.Most of my later years have been spent looking after and raising my 4 children, who suffer with a.d.h.d. and autism, whilst still trying to deal with my own disorders: avoidance disorder and borderline personality disorder.I have always had a love of writing and plan to continue to write and I hope this book may inspire and offer words of comfort to many others, and that that shall make all their experiences that little more worthwhile.

Description Gungi Blues chronicles the trials and tribulations of a dysfunctional Bangladeshi family growing up in Manchester. The main character Mina, who after being widowed at 25 with three little girls, remarries and embarks on a journey that leads to self-discovery and final self-acceptance. It is only by re-visiting the country of her birth, the country she escaped, that she reaches this epiphany.About the AuthorSanchita Islam is an artist, writer and filmmaker. She graduated in International History and Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics, Directing and Screenwriting at the Northern Media School and studied Fine Art at Chelsea School of Art and Design. She heads pigmentexplosion.com, a company that specialises in London based and international art projects. Islam has exhibited and screened her films in London, New York, Paris, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh. She has also made films in New York, Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and London for the British Council, Arts Council and Commonwealth Institute. Her writing and artwork have been published in New York, Paris, London, Mumbai and Bangladesh.Islam has published six books to date, 'From Briarwood to Barisal to Brick Lane,' 'Old Meets Young,' 'Hidden,' 'Connecting Kids,' 'Avenues' and the 'Cloud Catcher.' Sanchita Islam lives and works in London.