Monday 22 May 2017

Mental Health Mondays #2 : Things not to say to someone who's struggling

So this is something that should be obvious and yet I (and I'm certain I'm not alone) have several experiences of people 'helping' when they find out I have mental health difficulties. Here's my top 5 of Things Not To Say To A Mentally Distressed Person, along with a few tips on what might be the correct thing instead.

"Just talk to people!"
As someone who experiences social-based anxiety, particularly in group situations, I've heard this a lot but honestly that's the whole point. If I felt able to join in with the convos I would do, but I?? Can't??
Pro tip: if you have a friend who has this problem take the step to introduce them into the conversation so that they don't have to do it themselves, for me it's the first sentence that I feel unable to initiate and it gets easier once I'm involved.

Monday 15 May 2017

Mental Health Mondays #1 : Self Care with Sar


Disclaimer: These are a few things I've learnt through my journey with mental health issues, please be aware that these are from my experience and they often help me but this doesn't mean that they'll work for everyone as each person is different! Also, by no means am I trying to imply that mental distress can be "fixed" with these methods, only that these things help me to cope with my mood changes.

It's no surprise for me to say that looking after yourself is very important, and when you're struggling with your mental well-being even very basic self care can seem like the hardest thing in the world to do. As someone who frequently experiences very sudden drops in mood and difficult thoughts I've learnt that certain self care practices can really help me to distract myself in these times by doing something positive. Therefore, this post is simply a list of things that I find helpful and which may help you to think about what you can do to help yourself.

Thursday 4 May 2017

Girlhood by Cat Clarke

Rating: 9/10
Published: 4th May 2017
Publisher: Quercus
Pages: 342
Synopsis from Goodreads: 
Real, compulsive and intense: Cat Clarke is the queen of emotional suspense. For fans of Paula Hawkins, Gillian Flynn, Megan Abbott and Jandy Nelson.
Harper has tried to forget the past and fit in at expensive boarding school Duncraggan Academy. Her new group of friends are tight; the kind of girls who Harper knows have her back. But Harper can't escape the guilt of her twin sister's Jenna's death, and her own part in it - and she knows noone else will ever really understand.
But new girl Kirsty seems to get Harper in ways she never expected. She has lost a sister too. Harper finally feels secure. She finally feels...loved. As if she can grow beyond the person she was when Jenna died.
Then Kirsty's behaviour becomes more erratic. Why is her life a perfect mirror of Harper's? And why is she so obsessed with Harper's lost sister? Soon, Harper's closeness with Kirsty begins to threaten her other relationships, and her own sense of identity.
How can Harper get back to the person she wants to be, and to the girls who mean the most to her?

A darkly compulsive story about love, death, and growing up under the shadow of grief

A big thanks to Hachette Children's Group and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.

Little did I know until I picked up Girlhood three days ago, that my heart was yearning to read a boarding school book. Having loved Mallory Towers when I was younger and secretly wishing I could go there (as I think everyone who read it did!), a book set in a grand old boarding school in Scotland was the perfect fit for me straight away!

Girlhood follows the life of Harper who lost her twin sister to a battle with anorexia, as she struggles with the grief of moving through life without the person who she thought would be by her side for everything. It's a heartbreaking read in that sense because it's something that really does affect a lot of people and doesn't get a great deal of attention in the sensitive way that it should, this book looks at it as well as any book can, in my opinion.

A new girl comes to the school, called Kirsty, she and Harper seem to share a lot of similarities as the discussing having both lost siblings and how they are dealing with grief. Throughout the book it becomes apparent that there is a lot more to Kirsty's story than she's saying and as things gradually come to light (to the reader if not to Harper!) a great sense of mystery arises which meant I was absolutely whizzing through the pages, I needed to know what had happened!

The other thing that I loved about Girlhood is that it features a bisexual main character who is written super duper well and who's validity isn't questioned other than occasionally by other girls who don't quite understand yet (as is the way in real life). There is also a lesbian character too and the bi girl and the gay girl aren't a couple because they're the only non-hetero main characters, they're friends and it's so refreshing to see.

Overall, Girlhood is a brilliantly quick read which deals with a lot of difficult issues in a way that's respectful. Without spilling a lot of spoilers, it demonstrates the value of friendship and the importance of showing kindness towards people even though they may not wholly deserve it. Grief is a horrible thing and certainly a tricky subject to write about but Cat Clarke manages to represent both the differences and similarities between two characters' experiences in a way that is both intense and truthful. I truly enjoyed every page and I'd really recommend that everyone gives it a go.

Let me know what you thought of Girlhood, or recommend me any similar books which come to mind in the comments below.

Wednesday 3 May 2017

TBR - May 2017




Girlhood by Cat Clarke
This was my first ever approved read on NetGalley (woop woop I'm so pleased!!), it's published on the 4th of May and I'm hoping I'll be able to whizz through it and get a review done asap (I'm cheating a bit as I've already started as I write this but I started it in May and I'm late on this post so it counts right?!). Anyway it sounds super duper promising and the first chapter hooked me it so fast so let's see what happens (and look out for a review!).

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Do I even need to say why I want to read this? I've been excited about it for months and I haven't bought it yet but hopefully I'll get my hands on it so soon. I know it won't let me down because everyone says its phenomenal!

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas
As ACOWAR came out yesterday it seems like a good time for me to start catching up! I loved ACOTAR but there were a few bits that left me feeling a bit "?????" but I think they get sorted out so hopefully I'll enjoy it a lot!

A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard
Again, I'm late to this one, but having heard such good things about this, and having loved Beautiful Broken Things I'm sure this won't disappoint. It sounds like a really interesting concept and having started to learn sign language at the beginning of this year reading a book with a deaf MC sounds like good fun!

Countless by Karen Gregory
I'm so intrigued by what this book will be like. It sounds like it may be a difficult read because it's got a lot of intense stuff in it (judging from the synopsis!). If its done well I think it could be really important and I'm hoping that I'll love it. I haven't read many books that look at eating disorders and I think it may be a difficult thing to do well but Countless sounds as though it has a lot of potential.





What are you planning to read this month? Any of these? Happy reading whatever you pick up!