Jhilmil Breckenridge spoke with Stephen Gillatt about the issues of mental health and men and how society does not allow vulnerability in men. Stephen has recently written a mental health memoir as he wants to get more men talking about mental health.
Monica Suswin has published two of the books in her series of four mini-books on creative therapeutic writing: A Fox Crossed My Path and Love & Loss (due out this spring). She very kindly wrote this piece for us about her experience writing the books and the process that led to their conception.
Writing is generous in its wisdom
(from one of many freewrites)
Fifteen years ago my writing was squeezed into short bursts of time, often on the back of envelopes. Although I’d already gained an MA in Creative Writing at Sussex University (2002), and was part of a vibrant writers’ group of poets and novelists, at home I had a teenage daughter, and elderly parents (living a couple of hours away) who were increasingly needing attention. I was an avid scribbler, but didn’t fully dare to call myself a writer.